Latest / The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon / Iowa Hoops actually plays Defense, CFP Rankings, Dane Mizutani on the Vikings & Chiefs talk with Nick Athan

Transcript

Iowa Hoops actually plays Defense, CFP Rankings, Dane Mizutani on the Vikings & Chiefs talk with Nick Athan · The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon

• 0:09
  Hi, good afternoon. Welcome Miller and Condon.
• 0:12
  On a Wednesday, the Iowa Sports Radio Network back at it for the
• 0:16
  next block of six hours of Iowa based programming.
• 0:19
  We appreciate you starting your afternoon with us.
• 0:21
  Trent Condon and Ken Miller as we take you until 2:00, here's
• 0:25
  what's coming up on our program. We will start a little NFL
• 0:29
  conversation at 12:25. We'll head north, catch up with
• 0:33
  a friend, Dane Moussutani, who covers the Vikings for the Saint
• 0:36
  Paul Pioneer Press, twincities.com for Dane, the
• 0:39
  latest on JJ McCarthy. What did that mean?
• 0:42
  That win over Detroit on the road against Detroit.
• 0:46
  Here come the Ravens. We'll talk to Dane coming up on
• 0:48
  the Vikings at 12:25. We'll keep the NFL theme going
• 0:52
  with Nick Athen. Mitch Holtis is off this week.
• 0:55
  It's the one week that Mitch doesn't join us.
• 0:58
  Every time the Chiefs have a buy, Mitch gets a buy from our
• 1:01
  program. So Nick Athen will pinch it for
• 1:03
  him. The latest on the Chiefs, who
• 1:05
  did not make a move at the trade deadline yesterday.
• 1:10
  Nick Athan on Kansas City, David Kaplan on the Bears and on
• 1:14
  baseball, etcetera, when Cappy joins us to kick off our number
• 1:18
  2. And then John Bowenkamp, who was
• 1:20
  in the building a busy day in Iowa City yesterday covering the
• 1:23
  football press conferences and then took his seat on press row
• 1:28
  for the Robert Moore's Iowa debut of Ben McCollum basketball
• 1:33
  last night. That went exceptionally well.
• 1:34
  And I can't wait to talk to you about that 'cause I saw
• 1:36
  something. I was just, what am I watching?
• 1:39
  We'll get to that in a second. Trent will make some picks.
• 1:42
  Circus sports sponsor those. Those come up about 10 minutes
• 1:44
  before we turn things over to the boys coming in the
• 1:49
  afternoon. Lucas Strange, Sean Roberts off
• 1:51
  the bench, our picks at 1. Trent's picks rather at 1:50.
• 1:55
  So what I was referencing is the intensity at the defensive end
• 2:02
  of the floor. Trent, that was a sight for sore
• 2:06
  eyes. Quite frankly, it really was.
• 2:09
  I was I was taken aback by by how these kids from Drake, how
• 2:16
  they just how well they play together, how good Bennett
• 2:19
  Sturtz is. But the effort on the defensive
• 2:21
  end of the floor, it was jarring and it was great to see.
• 2:27
  It was exactly what we were sold, but I think there was
• 2:31
  still some tepidation for a lot of people in the fan base, a lot
• 2:35
  of people in the media. OK, yeah, it worked great.
• 2:38
  Northwest Missouri State. It worked at Drake.
• 2:40
  You know, we'll work here now with the caveat it was Robert
• 2:44
  Morris, Sure, whose best player is on Iowa now coming off the
• 2:48
  bench. Fulgaris, yeah.
• 2:49
  And lost 5 starters from a year ago.
• 2:51
  A team that pushed Alabama in the NCAA tournament.
• 2:53
  It's a new squad. Push that to the side.
• 2:57
  The defensive intensity you mentioned, the connected nature
• 3:02
  that they are. Is this team more athletic?
• 3:05
  Yes, yesterday they were. They have definitely some
• 3:10
  athletes. They got some dudes, but some of
• 3:12
  goods, friends, good teams also had some athletes on them too.
• 3:15
  They didn't play defense like that.
• 3:17
  And it comes down to coaching, comes down to want.
• 3:22
  And that's what you see out of Ben Mccollum's team.
• 3:24
  You talk to people that knew him from his days at Northwest
• 3:27
  Missouri State. There is no lollygagan.
• 3:30
  There is no you know what, I'm going to take a break this
• 3:34
  possession. It's not loud, it's not allowed
• 3:38
  inside the program that is building a program and to see
• 3:42
  him on the sidelines. Extolling the crowd.
• 3:44
  Imploring them to get off your ass.
• 3:48
  No more sit there, it's that knitting circle anymore.
• 3:53
  Get up and though there were less than 10,000 there.
• 3:56
  It's a start. Talk to a number of people that
• 3:58
  were at the game last night, the environment, the people that
• 4:01
  were there were engaged, they were ready to go and all right,
• 4:05
  it's a little something, but they got some students back
• 4:07
  behind the basket that the visitor will go down in the
• 4:10
  second-half of games. That helps.
• 4:12
  But now it's about continuing to build and then afterwards to go
• 4:16
  amongst the crowd and shake hands.
• 4:18
  Yeah, not only him, but the team, the.
• 4:20
  Team to go do that. Now I go back.
• 4:23
  I've been watching women's basketball a lot longer than
• 4:25
  you. You're new to it, but I remember
• 4:27
  going back and even Vivian Stringer, and you still see it
• 4:30
  today. You notice when you're watching
• 4:32
  an Iowa's game at the end and they all wave to the fans.
• 4:35
  They've been doing that for decades upon decades.
• 4:37
  Did she start that Vivian Stringer?
• 4:38
  That was Vivian Stringer, where they thank the fans for being
• 4:41
  there. And it culminated when they put
• 4:43
  nearly 20,000 in there when Ohio State came to town in the early
• 4:46
  90s. But that's how you build.
• 4:48
  Those are the things that you have to do.
• 4:49
  It's right. Not fun.
• 4:51
  Yeah. You're signing autographs.
• 4:52
  You're hearing the same thing. You're you're talking.
• 4:54
  But it's what has to be done. And then hearing the players
• 4:56
  afterwards say, yeah, they're part of it, the team's going to
• 5:00
  be good. He's going to make them a good
• 5:02
  team. The team's bought it.
• 5:05
  We know that coaching staff, he did go out there and bring in
• 5:08
  the who's who of college basketball for assistant
• 5:10
  coaches. He brought his team with.
• 5:11
  Him, he brought his guys. He brought his guys because
• 5:13
  they're connected and they're going to be there and they're
• 5:15
  going to give their best effort. Now it's on the fan base.
• 5:19
  You need to step up, Hawkeye fans.
• 5:20
  You need to be a part of this because I think something
• 5:24
  special is happening. I do too.
• 5:26
  I'm not saying they're going to win the Big 10, nor are you.
• 5:28
  No, no. But it was, and we're both
• 5:30
  friend Catherine guys. Yeah, this is the crazy part of
• 5:34
  it. But it was just different last
• 5:36
  night, Trent. I haven't felt like it just felt
• 5:39
  different watching the Hawkeyes take the floor last night and
• 5:43
  listening to Settles and the guy was working with and Leverly.
• 5:46
  Is that who it was good? It was.
• 5:49
  Yeah, they're both good. I mean, sounds was terrific.
• 5:51
  It was it was a fun watch. It was a it was something that
• 5:55
  yeah, they overmatched their opponent.
• 5:58
  We we knew it's it was how big of a favorite were they 20?
• 6:01
  2/22 and 1/2. 22 1/2 we knew that the game was probably going
• 6:04
  to go that way, but it was just seeing those guys on the floor
• 6:07
  'cause I hadn't seen them up until yesterday.
• 6:10
  And and how is Koch going to fit in with those guys?
• 6:12
  And Banks still got his his hops and and watching Bennett Sturtz,
• 6:17
  he's just a maestro. He just watching him do his
• 6:22
  thing on the floor. He's so smart, they're worried
• 6:25
  about him only playing 36 minutes, right?
• 6:28
  There's something going on, Yeah.
• 6:29
  And when they took him out there with there was four and change.
• 6:31
  4:30 or 420 or whatever, Yeah. They pulled him out and I didn't
• 6:35
  realize until they, I think Settle said it.
• 6:37
  He hadn't set out. Yeah.
• 6:39
  He hadn't set out at all until that point.
• 6:41
  You think at a game like that where you're going to get him a
• 6:43
  breather? Yeah.
• 6:43
  Combs came in for him, right? Yes, yeah.
• 6:45
  And Combs, they played him together.
• 6:47
  They did, which I like that Sturz.
• 6:49
  Was off the ball a little bit in that game too.
• 6:51
  They did that at Drake a year ago, played him off the ball
• 6:53
  quite a bit when the Combs was in there and and went that
• 6:56
  direction. I like that.
• 6:57
  So the Lu play. Yeah, the banks.
• 7:00
  Where No, no, no, the one no, that one was ridiculous too.
• 7:03
  I'm talking the one with Sturtz that had the two hand.
• 7:05
  Flush. Oh, I didn't see that.
• 7:06
  One, yeah, it was Combs threw it up to him and then got the two
• 7:09
  handed slam and my wife who's not a big basketball person,
• 7:14
  that's the guy you're talking about.
• 7:15
  Yeah, that's the point guard that this.
• 7:18
  I'm friends with Jeff Warner. Sorry, Jeff, Jeff Warner can't
• 7:22
  do that. No, you're not seeing that from
• 7:24
  Jordan Bohannon. NO64 going in the paint bullying
• 7:28
  a smaller point guard. It was.
• 7:30
  This is an all American. Iowa hasn't had an All American
• 7:33
  at the point guard spot since Andre Woolridge.
• 7:35
  Going back in the 90s, folks. And young kids, Yes, Andre
• 7:38
  Woolridge was a stud, could only go right, But you still couldn't
• 7:41
  stop him. He could play.
• 7:42
  He's going to Sturtz is going to be one of these guys that oh,
• 7:45
  what if, what if? We would have had him for what
• 7:48
  if, what if you got him for one. Enjoy him for how many 30
• 7:52
  something games it's going to be.
• 7:54
  Boy, he's fun to watch. He is.
• 7:56
  He's such a quarterback with the ball in his hand.
• 7:58
  He sees the floor so well. He's such a a tough match up is
• 8:02
  what he is. And you've heard me here the few
• 8:05
  times that we've talked kind of leading into the season where
• 8:09
  people think they're going to be a tournament team.
• 8:11
  You know, we ask, we ask Bowen Camper, Caker or they'll be a
• 8:15
  tournament team and I don't want to just have because you have an
• 8:18
  all American point guard and we know guard play is what rules in
• 8:22
  the month. I don't want to cap it at that.
• 8:24
  Yes, it's about matchups. It's about what happens.
• 8:26
  But with the right, this team can make the second weekend.
• 8:30
  They absolutely can. When you have an all American
• 8:33
  point guard, it shouldn't be the baseline if they don't get
• 8:35
  there. I'm not saying it should be a
• 8:37
  disappointment, but don't put that glass ceiling on this team.
• 8:41
  Don't put it because if he plays at an all American level, you
• 8:44
  can dream a little bit. Maybe we're a little excited
• 8:47
  because it was Robert Morris, but you got to you got to cut us
• 8:49
  some slack because this was just different last night.
• 8:52
  It was just different. It was Iowa State intensity of
• 8:56
  the defensive end of the floor and I haven't seen and now side
• 9:00
  hawk. I mean, what's the total of that
• 9:02
  one going to be? Well, I see Ken Pomeroy with his
• 9:05
  numbers. He has Iowa State favored by 9
• 9:09
  currently in that game. Now a lot of priors are built
• 9:12
  into that, the full database of the of the efficiency numbers
• 9:16
  and things are not completely baked in.
• 9:18
  However, if I give you 9 right now, would you grab Iowa?
• 9:20
  Yeah. And the points, yeah.
• 9:22
  I would too, yeah. I don't think many people are
• 9:24
  giving you 9 cycle of fans. You want to give us 9 though?
• 9:26
  Yeah, On television. So you have a bad night.
• 9:29
  Good night. I mean, just we'll, we'll see
• 9:30
  where it goes. That coming up in December, A
• 9:33
  lot of basketball to be played between now and then.
• 9:35
  I know the water's going to get deeper, but last night was just
• 9:37
  different and it was fun and there was nothing else going on.
• 9:41
  There really wasn't right. Well, we had Max.
• 9:43
  Your favorite TV show was on. Well, I watched that and we'll
• 9:46
  get into that in just a second because it preceded the
• 9:48
  Hawkeyes. It started at 7:00 last night.
• 9:51
  So, you know, listening to one of the panelists, his biggest
• 9:57
  take away was I don't have nothing to bitch about.
• 10:01
  They got it right. Did they get it right?
• 10:06
  Did they get it? Right.
• 10:07
  Strength of schedule factors factors into this.
• 10:10
  Now I I think for the most part, Trent, I kind of feel the same
• 10:14
  way. Where they missed a couple of
• 10:17
  spots? Who at #10?
• 10:21
  Notre Dame. And Notre Dame, I believe, is
• 10:23
  one of only three or four teams that can win a national
• 10:25
  championship. I think maybe I I agree with you
• 10:28
  and there on that list I might go a little deeper, but not very
• 10:30
  far, but not very much further. Notre Dame, what have they done?
• 10:34
  Well, they beat USC. OK, I can't go any further,
• 10:39
  right? Yeah, that that's it.
• 10:40
  Yeah. And the gap between them and one
• 10:43
  of the two teams that beat them is 8 spots.
• 10:47
  They're both 6 and 2. They both have the same record.
• 10:51
  But Notre. Dame feels better 'cause they're
• 10:53
  ascending well, one the other one.
• 10:54
  Miami's going the other way, but isn't.
• 10:56
  It the totality of you're supposed to.
• 10:57
  Be. Yeah.
• 10:58
  The totality of the resume does not say that Notre Dame is 8
• 11:02
  spots better. I wouldn't have had a problem if
• 11:04
  they were close, but the gap between them recency bias is
• 11:08
  coming in. They're the highest ranked two
• 11:10
  loss team by mile, but will. Recency bias come in when we get
• 11:15
  to December. Of course not.
• 11:16
  Or maybe it will because we don't know.
• 11:18
  Because it's all garbage. It is.
• 11:19
  Make it up on the fly every single time.
• 11:22
  The gap is significant between two teams that have similar
• 11:26
  records, similar strength to schedule, similar metrics. 11
• 11:31
  head to head. Who would you?
• 11:32
  Take this weekend if they were playing, oh, Notre Dame.
• 11:34
  It's not close, but that's not what this is.
• 11:36
  It's not what it's supposed to be.
• 11:37
  It's supposed to be resume based and the resumes are certainly
• 11:41
  not 8 spots apart. Should there have?
• 11:43
  Been a group of a group of five included in the top 25.
• 11:46
  What I think. And if there isn't, should they
• 11:49
  continue to get that free pass into the tournament?
• 11:53
  Yes, yeah, absolutely. I mean it.
• 11:54
  It has to happen. You have to have access for the
• 11:57
  group of five. Well, they do.
• 11:59
  They're just not good enough. But aren't they?
• 12:02
  I don't know, I mean the top 25 Memphis and.
• 12:04
  Tennessee play this week. Who you taking?
• 12:06
  Neutral field? Give me Memphis, put that thing
• 12:10
  in. I don't know, Pododuck.
• 12:12
  Tennessee put in the middle at a high school stadium.
• 12:15
  I think I'm taking the Tigers. Tennessee sucks.
• 12:17
  They're a bad football team and yet the SEC gets great resume
• 12:21
  they're. The only three lost team in the
• 12:23
  top 12 and what? Have they done to get that lose
• 12:26
  to teams that are on a similar plane than them?
• 12:30
  Was it beating Kentucky? How about beating Arkansas?
• 12:34
  How about beating Mississippi State?
• 12:35
  What was their? Non con.
• 12:36
  Did they have a good non con? Syracuse.
• 12:39
  Who's down this year? Terrible.
• 12:40
  They beat that idiot trend Dilfer his squad before he got
• 12:43
  his ass fired. Fired.
• 12:44
  Yeah, and East Tennessee State and came back.
• 12:47
  Those are their wins in the non conference.
• 12:50
  Right below them at 20 fours. The team was going to have a
• 12:52
  major say in this right in pit with the remaining schedule
• 12:55
  Notre Dame, Georgia Tech in Miami.
• 12:57
  Hello I do want. To go back to one thing with the
• 12:59
  Group of five, if you're going to do this and you're going to
• 13:02
  put up this stupid ass dog and pony show that just annoys the
• 13:04
  crap out of me because they change every single week and the
• 13:06
  metrics change and just whatever narrative they want, they can
• 13:09
  change it on the fly and then it doesn't matter a week later.
• 13:12
  And that's why it drives me crazy.
• 13:13
  But with this, if you're going to do it and you're going to
• 13:17
  invest all this time in doing it and something that ultimately
• 13:19
  doesn't matter for ATV show, then you have to give us the
• 13:23
  numbers for the Group of Five teams.
• 13:25
  If Memphis is 26, OK, where's too late?
• 13:28
  We don't know. Where's the?
• 13:29
  Rest of the American don't know. How close is James Madison,
• 13:32
  who's probably the only other likely team to get there from
• 13:36
  the group of five? How big is the gap between them
• 13:38
  and the top four or five? We don't know.
• 13:40
  So if you're going to do this, actually do it right.
• 13:43
  Actually show us because so give.
• 13:44
  This a separate graphic with the group of five because nobody's
• 13:47
  in the top 25. Rank the top five.
• 13:49
  Of the group of five, top ten of the group, whatever you want to
• 13:53
  do, but you have to do something you know what?
• 13:54
  Whether? They're in the top 25 or not.
• 13:56
  Give me the rank because. Rank the top five?
• 13:58
  Absolutely, because. There is an opportunity here and
• 14:02
  how because if you're doing the work you're deciphering because
• 14:04
  all those resumes in the American they all look kind of
• 14:07
  similar so if. Memphis does well.
• 14:09
  Who's the next team up? We don't know.
• 14:10
  We don't know. We don't know.
• 14:11
  That would probably be too Lane, but we don't know.
• 14:14
  South Florida though, of course has a big that they have two
• 14:16
  losses and they lose to Memphis along with their loss that they
• 14:19
  have against Miami. Oh, by the way, Miami has a win
• 14:22
  against a team that you'd anticipate be in the top 3035.
• 14:25
  I mean, if you went that deep would certainly be on that
• 14:28
  range. But that doesn't count whenever
• 14:30
  we have an arbitrary cut off at 25 and nothing else matters.
• 14:33
  It's just. No, I think you're right.
• 14:34
  I think they missed an opportunity there.
• 14:36
  They missed an opportunity to give us the, the, you know, the
• 14:39
  top five in the group of in the group of five.
• 14:42
  Memphis Falls. Who's next right?
• 14:44
  Right now, San Diego State is at the top of the Mountain West.
• 14:47
  They're seven and one, by the way.
• 14:49
  What if they were on the table 12 and 1 coming out of there?
• 14:52
  How different are they compared to the way that they look?
• 14:54
  The American is the best by top to bottom.
• 14:57
  Yeah, I mean, the gap between them and the Mountain West is is
• 15:00
  significant. But James Madison, there's seven
• 15:02
  and one out of the sun. It just they do all this work,
• 15:06
  but they don't do enough. I have no problem with a group
• 15:09
  of you don't have to rank a team to put them in there.
• 15:12
  You just have to figure out if they don't, if they're not a top
• 15:14
  25 team, don't put them in there.
• 15:15
  Just a pigeon hole in. But let us know.
• 15:18
  Let us know what else you have in the way that you look at
• 15:20
  these teams. Of course they don't do that.
• 15:22
  Bad day for the ACC, Good day for the Big 12.
• 15:27
  Still work to be done right, but.
• 15:28
  At this point, does it seem because we thought I'll, I mean,
• 15:31
  go back to August, September, October, there's one team for
• 15:33
  the Big 12. That's it.
• 15:34
  They're not getting 2. They're not getting 2.
• 15:37
  They might be getting 2. Let's say this.
• 15:40
  Let's say it is Texas Tech beats BYU this week.
• 15:43
  This week, but then both. Teams run the table the rest of
• 15:46
  the so they play. Each other for the championship.
• 15:48
  BYU. Gets them in the championship so
• 15:50
  they. Still have one loss.
• 15:51
  Texas Tech would have two. Two.
• 15:54
  Does that lead to two? Because obviously the easiest
• 15:56
  one, BYU runs the table, loses the championship, Texas Tech
• 15:59
  beats them. Well, that'd be their second
• 16:00
  loss, but that's kind of the path that would make the most
• 16:03
  sense for two. However, in that scenario, an 11
• 16:07
  and two Big 12 runner up, do they get in if it's eleven and
• 16:11
  two Big 12 versus 9 and three du jour out of the SEC out of the
• 16:16
  Big 10, whoever it is, who are you taking and?
• 16:20
  Let's use Texas because Texas is on the outside looking in right
• 16:23
  now. 9 and. Three Texas against 11 and 2
• 16:26
  Texas Tech. Let's play that.
• 16:28
  What's? Texas got left.
• 16:29
  I know they have A and M at the end of the year.
• 16:31
  They got, they have Georgia, they've got.
• 16:32
  So if they if they beat Georgia or beat A&M, they'll beat
• 16:38
  Arkansas. If they split Texas A&M,
• 16:41
  Georgia, it's Texas. Texas will.
• 16:45
  Get in Texas will get in and so. The so the Big 12 is not home
• 16:50
  free with two and could you? Imagine the fight in Texas if
• 16:52
  it's down to Texas Tech and Texas 3 lost Texas against two
• 16:56
  loss Texas Tech so. They would have lost to Ohio
• 17:01
  State week 1. Ohio State, the number one
• 17:03
  ranked team in the country. They would have lost to say they
• 17:06
  lose to Georgia. They beat A&M, who's number 3 in
• 17:10
  for a lot of people, including Joey Galloway, the number one
• 17:13
  team in the country. Galloway thinks they are, yeah.
• 17:16
  Wins against A&M, Vandy, Oklahoma, Oklahoma.
• 17:20
  In that scenario, losses to Ohio State, Florida, That might be
• 17:26
  the tough one to pull back from. It might.
• 17:27
  Be it could be that Florida loss.
• 17:31
  All right, we're going to be switching gears.
• 17:33
  We'll get into the NFL. Coming up on the other side,
• 17:36
  Dane Mazzutani will join us just real quick because we haven't
• 17:39
  done any NFL other than, you know, bits and pieces of this
• 17:43
  thing. As you think back to the weekend
• 17:45
  when when it comes to the Green Bay Packers, who are leading the
• 17:48
  division in the North Trent, they've lost to two of the worst
• 17:50
  teams in football where I was. I've had trouble since going
• 17:54
  back to August trying to figure out this Green Bay team.
• 17:57
  And then they just pummeled Detroit and think, God, how dumb
• 18:00
  was I? I totally missed on them.
• 18:02
  But if you're losing to Carolina and to Cleveland, are you really
• 18:06
  the best team in the north? Are you really be a contender in
• 18:08
  the NFC? But also look at who they beat
• 18:13
  and but they tied they. Tied Dallas.
• 18:15
  They tied Dallas. And even put that down as a
• 18:16
  loss. But they also beat.
• 18:19
  Detroit. Beat a full strength Washington
• 18:21
  team back when we thought they were good.
• 18:24
  Cincinnati. What at Arizona?
• 18:27
  Arizona got lucky to. Beat Arizona.
• 18:28
  But they did. One in Pittsburgh who you still
• 18:31
  have in your top five of the AFC and I can't understand you don't
• 18:34
  either. You do it every week and I don't
• 18:37
  understand they're leading the way they're.
• 18:38
  Going to get a home yet. I don't think they're going to
• 18:39
  ultimately win, but as of today they do but.
• 18:42
  That's not power. Power rankings are not the
• 18:44
  standings. We know the standings.
• 18:45
  Power rankings are how you see the team.
• 18:47
  And I see a team that's not very good.
• 18:49
  They got Aaron. Rodgers and that puts him over
• 18:51
  the top for me. He's still still serviceable.
• 18:53
  I am. Not ready to throw dirt on Green
• 18:55
  Bay? And in fact, I love the Packers
• 18:57
  Monday night. You do.
• 18:58
  Against the Eagles. Oh yeah, at Lambeau, yes, and
• 19:02
  they're getting points right in the. 20s That's the.
• 19:06
  Temperature good. Chilly 10 I like.
• 19:09
  That any snow I. Don't know.
• 19:12
  That's the forecast for Monday night.
• 19:13
  It's it's that time of year, right?
• 19:15
  But the Packers? Are I think of the top half of
• 19:18
  the league, Even the most difficult to decipher is right.
• 19:21
  Those losses are absolute anchors.
• 19:23
  We see them at their best. They're great.
• 19:25
  What was Lafleur doing? You're down a touchdown.
• 19:27
  It's 4th and eight and you go for it.
• 19:30
  Is it just they have? No, they think McManus sucks
• 19:32
  that bad? He's awful.
• 19:34
  Well. He is, I mean, he's, he's been
• 19:36
  in the league a long time. He's been taking a long time.
• 19:38
  It's over. I agree with you.
• 19:39
  All right, 12:20 Let's get to a break.
• 19:42
  We'll get more NFL conversation up Dame Mazzatani, then Nick
• 19:45
  Athan, let's get you over to kxando.com.
• 19:47
  Why? Well, you can win $1000 in this
• 19:50
  nationwide contest. Enter the keyword win in the pop
• 19:52
  up box win at kxno.com. Your chance to win $1000.
• 19:57
  Mazzatani Next. Miller and Condon, glad you're
• 19:59
  with us on Des Moines Sports Station One O 6.3 KXNO.
• 20:08
  I'm Nori Condon, welcome back. Approaching 12/30 here on a
• 20:11
  Wednesday. Glad you're with us on the Iowa
• 20:13
  Sports Radio Network. Wherever you're listening in the
• 20:15
  state of Iowa, anywhere on the iheart app or at Des Moines
• 20:18
  Sports station One O 6.3 KXNO. The flagship.
• 20:22
  Off we go to the Twin Cities. twincities.com.
• 20:25
  Saint Paul Pioneer Pressie's Dane Mazatani.
• 20:27
  He covers the Vikings. Dane, I know we only got 10
• 20:30
  minutes or so, so let's get right into it.
• 20:32
  Appreciate it as always. JJ McCarthy, 14 to 25, a buck
• 20:37
  43, two touchdowns against one pick sack five times.
• 20:40
  But it feels different in a good way.
• 20:43
  It does. I think that maybe some of the
• 20:46
  detractors have a little bit of a quieter week.
• 20:48
  Even though he didn't wow you, statistically, something seemed
• 20:52
  different in a good way. Dane.
• 20:55
  Yeah, I think so. I think when you look at that
• 20:57
  game over the weekend, it really did have a chance to either
• 21:03
  teeter the season in One Direction or the other.
• 21:06
  If they lose that game in Detroit, all of a sudden
• 21:09
  fighting for playoff contention in the NFC seems extremely hard.
• 21:14
  They win, and now while they aren't above the cut line,
• 21:17
  they're right in the mix. So I think that's why it feels
• 21:20
  different because there feels like there's some hope.
• 21:22
  We saw market improvement from JJ McCarthy compared to that
• 21:26
  Atlanta Falcons game. And and that was kind of always
• 21:29
  my point, like if if the kid just got to get back on the
• 21:32
  horse a month and a half ago, have a bad game against the
• 21:35
  Falcons, play against the Bengals and take your chances,
• 21:39
  we probably wouldn't have talked about him in a way where the
• 21:42
  next start was a referendum on his career.
• 21:44
  Because that's what happens with young quarterbacks.
• 21:46
  Sometimes they're good, sometimes they're bad, sometimes
• 21:49
  they're good, sometimes they're bad.
• 21:50
  We saw it the other night. He was much, much better.
• 21:53
  And obviously a good sign for the fight here to come last.
• 21:57
  Week Dane, there was a lot of talk about some locker room
• 22:00
  stuff, leadership, those kind of things, veterans, maybe some
• 22:04
  grumbling happening there. Just kind of take us in last
• 22:07
  week because felt like it was just bubbling under the surface.
• 22:09
  There wasn't anything outright, but felt like there was
• 22:12
  something there. Take us into last week and
• 22:14
  obviously a winds going to cure a lot of the ales that happened
• 22:17
  there. Just what that week was like.
• 22:20
  Yeah, I, I think it was not dissimilar to when any NFL team
• 22:24
  loses a game and then feels like they're their season to be
• 22:28
  teetering on the brink. I I wouldn't say that the vibes
• 22:31
  were bad by any means, but it they they seem like a focus
• 22:34
  group who understood the task at hand.
• 22:37
  Now, if they lose to Detroit last weekend and then they come
• 22:40
  back and lose the Ravens, like the thing could have potentially
• 22:43
  spiraled out of control. But I think what stood out to
• 22:45
  me, and I'm actually going to write it for Sunday's paper up
• 22:48
  here in the Twin Cities, like the way that Kevin O'Connell
• 22:51
  kind of led through his largest spout of adversity that I would
• 22:56
  say since he was the head coach. You know, like the playoff loss
• 22:59
  to the Giants, yes, bad. The playoff loss to, you know,
• 23:03
  the Rams last year, yes, bad. But this was the first time
• 23:06
  where I felt like he was finally taking, you know, some heat that
• 23:10
  that comes with being an NFL head coach.
• 23:12
  And I was just so impressed with the way he continued to lead
• 23:16
  consistently with his message. And I think that resonated
• 23:19
  throughout the locker room. So, yeah, Where the guys tight?
• 23:21
  Absolutely. But I think the way that they
• 23:24
  played on Sunday, it was totally emblematic of kind of the way
• 23:28
  they handle the week as a whole. You know, and when McCarthy
• 23:31
  finally got to the locker room and they were all waiting,
• 23:33
  waiting for him, it seemed like that that emotion was let loose
• 23:37
  by everybody, right, That that JJ McCarthy guys taking a lot of
• 23:41
  had a target on his back. It took a lot of arrows and his
• 23:44
  head coach took up for him was in the fight for him.
• 23:46
  I think he had the relieves as well, belief relief as well.
• 23:51
  And it certainly appeared that way.
• 23:53
  Where I want to go with you is the defensive side of the ball
• 23:56
  because old #55 Wilson, he might have had his best game.
• 24:01
  He was all over the field. Dane.
• 24:03
  That had to be Eric Wilson's best game as a Viking, right?
• 24:06
  Yeah, I think there's probably an argument to be made, and
• 24:09
  don't quote me on this because I know he's played some football,
• 24:12
  you know, all over the, you know, he's a guy who's played
• 24:15
  not just with the Vikings, with the Packers last year, but it
• 24:18
  might have been the best game of his career.
• 24:20
  I mean, he was a game wrecker for the Vikings.
• 24:22
  Everything he did, you know, in terms of rushing the passer
• 24:26
  showed up both on the stat sheet.
• 24:28
  But I think just in the general feeling of of the Lions, they
• 24:31
  they literally took Jamir Gibbs out of the game at one point
• 24:34
  because he could not pass block with with Eric Wilson coming
• 24:37
  around on these stunts. So yeah, Eric Wilson, he was
• 24:40
  signed to be a special teams guy that provided a little bit of
• 24:43
  defensive depth. And there is an argument to be
• 24:46
  made that production wise, the way he helped fill in when Blake
• 24:50
  Cashman was down, Eric Wilson might have been sneaky, one of
• 24:53
  the best signings of the entire office.
• 24:55
  So he's a guy who I think is earn the respect over the course
• 24:59
  of his career, but like doing The Dirty work, not necessarily
• 25:02
  getting the attention. So it's cool to see him kind of
• 25:06
  come to the to the limelight here and have a really, really
• 25:09
  big game. We saw the return of Aaron Jones
• 25:12
  and then the exit of Aaron Jones in the third quarter with the
• 25:15
  shoulder injury doesn't sound like as serious as maybe
• 25:18
  initially feared. What are the chances we see him
• 25:21
  out there against Baltimore this week?
• 25:23
  Yeah, we're. Going to talk to Kevin O'Connell
• 25:24
  in about 5-10 minutes and I'm sure he'll give us a little bit
• 25:27
  more of an update. But the way it sounded on Monday
• 25:30
  when we talked to O'Connell is that they got some positive news
• 25:34
  out of the game itself. So sometimes by Monday, you can
• 25:38
  tell if a guy isn't going to play the following weekend.
• 25:42
  I don't know that the Vikings are for sure set in stone,
• 25:45
  confident that Aaron Jones will play this upcoming weekend.
• 25:48
  But I think it would have been more telling if on Monday, Kevin
• 25:52
  O'Connell said, yeah, it's going to take a little bit.
• 25:54
  So I know Aaron Jones is a veteran, knows how his body
• 25:59
  needs to feel, but at the same time he understands how to get
• 26:03
  himself ready without necessarily having to practice
• 26:05
  in full all week. So that benefits him and if he
• 26:09
  plays, it will certainly benefit the Vikings.
• 26:11
  He had some juice and I did not know he still had left in the
• 26:13
  tank the way he performed the other the other day in Detroit
• 26:17
  so that the running game was live because of him and started
• 26:21
  to fall off when he was out of the game.
• 26:22
  So you got to see how important Aaron Jones is to how everything
• 26:25
  kind of bumps it for the Vikings.
• 26:27
  Big stretch obviously coming up, yes, the Ravens in a conference
• 26:31
  match up, it seems like maybe a crossroads, but then home to the
• 26:34
  Bears at the Packers, at the Seahawks, That's a pretty
• 26:37
  daunting 3 game stretch. Especially the Bears.
• 26:39
  They look so good offensively, not defensively.
• 26:42
  But what does this Ravens game mean to you, Dame?
• 26:44
  When you look at it, obviously Baltimore still fancies
• 26:47
  themselves as a contender, a major threat in the AFC with
• 26:51
  Lamar Jackson back. Vikings took a step.
• 26:54
  Both teams kind of took a step forward last week.
• 26:56
  How do you see this one coming up?
• 26:59
  Yeah, I mean, it's going to be a tough test.
• 27:01
  I mean, the Ravens, I think when they're one in five start,
• 27:04
  obviously a lot of that was with Lamar Jackson not in the lineup.
• 27:08
  But like, you could make an argument that the Baltimore
• 27:10
  Ravens were one of the most disappointing teams for the
• 27:13
  first month and a half of the season.
• 27:15
  And another team that would fall into that criteria, I think
• 27:17
  would be the Vikings. So it's two teams who I think
• 27:20
  probably at this point thought they would be in higher standing
• 27:24
  in their respective divisions, both desperate for a win.
• 27:27
  If you're the Vikings, you just beat the the Detroit Lions.
• 27:30
  Nobody gave you a chance. You can follow that up by
• 27:32
  beating the Baltimore Ravens. All of a sudden, everything you
• 27:35
  want to accomplish is right there in front of you.
• 27:38
  If you follow it up by losing to the Baltimore Ravens now, then
• 27:41
  all of a sudden you feel yourself kind of having to mount
• 27:44
  that comeback a little bit more of an uphill climb.
• 27:46
  So the same thing could be said about the Ravens.
• 27:49
  They dominated the Dolphins in prime time with Lamar's return.
• 27:53
  If you can kind of parlay that into another win, they're going
• 27:55
  to be feeling good about themselves.
• 27:57
  If you take a step back with a loss, going to be fighting it
• 28:00
  again. So both teams kind of in similar
• 28:02
  positions, record aren't the same, but the vibes surrounding
• 28:06
  kind of the importance of this game.
• 28:08
  I think both teams feel it. 4:00 and 4:00 last place, but yet
• 28:12
  only a game and a half back. A first place in this division.
• 28:15
  Going to be fun down the stretch.
• 28:17
  Back to Detroit one final time. We'll let you go on this.
• 28:19
  Dane Dave Campbell has dominated this series.
• 28:23
  The Lions have dominated the Vikings.
• 28:25
  And I think that's why it was such a surprise.
• 28:27
  We've just seen even the Lions as they were building, had
• 28:30
  played so well against Minnesota.
• 28:32
  How far off out of left field did this one feel to you and the
• 28:35
  importance because they did a lot of different things than
• 28:38
  what they've done in the past against Campbell coach teams.
• 28:41
  Yeah, I mean it, it, it was massive to me.
• 28:44
  And it was, they're very surprising to me.
• 28:46
  I think I picked them to lose by two touchdowns in my
• 28:48
  predictions. It's just I did not see a world
• 28:52
  in which they would be able to stop the Detroit Lions because
• 28:56
  two games in a row against the Philadelphia Eagles, well, the
• 28:58
  Eagles threw all over them. And then against the Los Angeles
• 29:01
  Chargers, the Chargers ran all over them and threw all over
• 29:04
  them. So I thought the Lions were
• 29:06
  better than both the Eagles and the Chargers in terms of
• 29:08
  offense. So I was pretty surprised by the
• 29:11
  how the game played out. But I think what you did see is
• 29:15
  for those who follow the lions closely, the loss of Frank
• 29:18
  Ragnar, they're all pro center. It was massive.
• 29:21
  And the loss of Ben Johnson, their ability to their inability
• 29:25
  to kind of adjust on the fly to what the Vikings were doing, I
• 29:29
  think that was on display. I think if Frank Ragnar and Ben
• 29:32
  Johnson are a part of the Detroit Lions organization in
• 29:34
  that game, they might win running away.
• 29:37
  But I think you see a little bit of the cracks in the foundation.
• 29:40
  I still think the Lions are, at least to me, the team to beat in
• 29:44
  the NFC North. So this is not, oh, sound the
• 29:46
  alarms, Detroit, you know, dead. But I think you start to see a
• 29:51
  little bit of issues that could continue to kind of rear their
• 29:54
  ugly head. The thing about the NFL, all of
• 29:58
  these coaches, they're psychos. They watch them every minute of
• 30:01
  every single day. The Vikings just gave you a
• 30:04
  blueprint on how to beat the Lions.
• 30:05
  Attack them on the interior, make their young interior line
• 30:08
  offensive lineman block, make Jamir Gibbs pass block.
• 30:12
  And if you do all those things at a high level, you give
• 30:14
  yourself a chance. I think a lot of teams are going
• 30:16
  to start attacking the Lions that way moving forward.
• 30:18
  Dane Mazzutani, St. Paul Pioneer Press
• 30:20
  twincities.com twincities.com for Dane Mazzutani on the
• 30:24
  Vikings beat Dane, thank you as always.
• 30:26
  We will track you down in the next week or so.
• 30:29
  Thank you Dane. Appreciate it.
• 30:32
  Thank you Dane Mazzutani as we check in on the Vikings before
• 30:35
  he heads off to hear KOC pretty tough stretch Baltimore this
• 30:39
  week. I think it's a coin flip if
• 30:41
  anything. Eileen Ravens.
• 30:42
  I like the. Points though getting 4 1/2.
• 30:45
  Yeah, I think it's a tight game, so I could see that.
• 30:47
  And then home to the Bears. It's Bears, Vikings at Packers
• 30:51
  at Seahawks. You know how I feel about the
• 30:53
  Seahawks. You love them.
• 30:54
  I do. I like them.
• 30:55
  Now I won't like them in January.
• 30:58
  Or week 17. Yeah, I was just, you know.
• 31:02
  Who the Seahawks have wee 17? Who is it?
• 31:05
  Let me see if I can fight it here because, well, it's got to
• 31:08
  be an. AFC or an NFC West team?
• 31:09
  Is it the Cardinals? They.
• 31:11
  Wrap up as I scroll through here.
• 31:14
  Seahawks against the 49ers on the road.
• 31:19
  And then it all. Comes crashing down that.
• 31:21
  Division at that point, what will that mean?
• 31:23
  The Rams will. Have it locked up.
• 31:25
  The Rams will have it locked up. The Rams will have.
• 31:27
  It locked up so they've. Beaten the Seahawks?
• 31:29
  They have. Will they?
• 31:30
  Yes. OK.
• 31:34
  Tricky spot this week. We talked about it after that
• 31:36
  upset loss. Shanahan owns McVeigh, but if
• 31:41
  they win in in San Francisco and even up the series, they get
• 31:45
  Seattle at home, the Bucks at home, they go to Carolina.
• 31:48
  How about this at Carolina, at Arizona, back-to-back for the
• 31:51
  Rams, then home for the Lions at the Seahawks, at Atlanta.
• 31:58
  That's a tough schedule, Cardinals.
• 32:00
  I might have to revamp this a little bit that December gets
• 32:03
  tough in a hurry for. The.
• 32:05
  Rams. I just like the brains better
• 32:06
  than the rest of those teams. Have they?
• 32:08
  Played. Have they played once already
• 32:10
  this year, the Rams in Seattle? Rams, Seattle.
• 32:16
  I don't think they have no, they they haven't played yet, no,
• 32:18
  because. They'll play November 16th and
• 32:20
  then again on Thursday the 18th. Oh, that's a Thursday night
• 32:24
  game. That's juicy.
• 32:26
  It's those two, right? I mean, we're splitting hairs at
• 32:29
  this point. If you like the Rams, I'll take
• 32:30
  the Seahawks. You like the Seahawks, I'd take
• 32:32
  the Rams. I feel good about my spot either
• 32:34
  way. I really would.
• 32:35
  I think both of those teams are legit.
• 32:36
  The Fred Warner. Injury is too much for 49ers.
• 32:40
  They just yes, yes, and, and who's the quarterback?
• 32:43
  But if they do it again, if they beat the Rams again, seven and
• 32:47
  three they got. I was.
• 32:49
  Surprised that they had their way with the Giants.
• 32:52
  You were that. Felt that felt like a huge let
• 32:55
  down spot for the Giants. Yeah, Yeah, you can make that
• 32:58
  case. I mean, hindsight be what it is,
• 33:02
  that's fun division. Here's.
• 33:03
  What the 49ers have, by the way, because you want to throw them
• 33:06
  to the side. I do.
• 33:07
  Their. Schedule, well, it's.
• 33:09
  Easy because they had last place schedule.
• 33:11
  Well, not easy to the NFL. What have they got?
• 33:13
  Rams. This week at home, OK, They go
• 33:15
  to Arizona, OK. Home for.
• 33:17
  Carolina, OK. Cleveland Two teams back-to-back
• 33:21
  weeks that beat the Green Bay Packers, but two.
• 33:23
  Teams, even Carolina with a winning record.
• 33:25
  Not very good they're. Five are they 5 and 4/4 and 4/5?
• 33:29
  Yeah, they're over 500. After the bye.
• 33:32
  Week 20 Niners get it in Week 14.
• 33:34
  Home for Tennessee. Win they go to Indy loss.
• 33:38
  Home for the. Bears tough win and then home
• 33:41
  for the Seahawks. 49ers are not out of this yet.
• 33:44
  Well, you know. We could have, could we have
• 33:46
  three teams from that division? Get in Nick Athen.
• 33:50
  Next, we'll switch gears, get to the Chiefs, Miller and Condon.
• 33:53
  Glad you're with us on the Iowa Sports Radio Network.
• 33:56
  I'm Millie Condon, welcome back. Hi with Sports Radio Network.
• 33:59
  As you know, the Chiefs are off this week.
• 34:01
  Mitch Holtis normally would be joining us here, but he gets the
• 34:03
  buy when the Chiefs gets the buy.
• 34:05
  So pinch hitting our other Chiefs guy, he's Nick Athan.
• 34:09
  Chiefs blitz.com. Chiefs blitz.com for Nick.
• 34:12
  Nick, thanks for giving us a few minutes.
• 34:14
  Appreciate it. So we're watching TV in here
• 34:17
  yesterday. Of course, it's on silent,
• 34:18
  right? We just got the picture and the
• 34:20
  same Chiron that announced the Quinn and Williams and the Sauce
• 34:23
  gardener and Shaheed trade, all of a sudden it pops up Breece
• 34:28
  Hall to the Chiefs for 1/4 rounder.
• 34:30
  I lost my you know what? He threw his water.
• 34:32
  I actually threw a cup of water. I'm 66.
• 34:36
  Maybe I'm a little bit old for doing that, but it to me it was
• 34:40
  the missing piece, Nick, it was the missing piece.
• 34:43
  How close did they get and how wrong was Adam Schefter?
• 34:45
  Apparently very wrong because it didn't happen.
• 34:48
  But I was surprised there was no moves made.
• 34:50
  How about you? Yeah, You know, I think I wasn't
• 34:54
  shocked that they didn't make any move.
• 34:56
  They were in on Quinton Williams, just pretty, pretty
• 34:59
  close. Actually.
• 35:01
  It boiled down to Jerry Jones saying screw it, I'll do a new
• 35:04
  contract with him. The Chiefs would like to have
• 35:06
  had a contract in place prior to announcing the trade and that
• 35:10
  trade would have included brief all.
• 35:12
  There was a mega swing all thing.
• 35:15
  And then about 2:30 after The Jets pumped their chest with the
• 35:20
  two trades they made, their demand for Breece Hall was
• 35:25
  pretty unreasonable. Forget what you read about a
• 35:28
  third round pick or the Chiefs offered for The Chiefs never
• 35:32
  went below A4. Actually, The Jets, I put an
• 35:35
  article up on chiefbooks.com today, wanted a second round
• 35:38
  pick and also a third day pick in 2027 and the Chiefs just
• 35:43
  weren't willing to go there. Breece Hall, I can tell you, is
• 35:46
  very upset. You wanted to be a Chief, but
• 35:50
  the two, but The Jets weren't really serious about trading
• 35:52
  him. And I'll be honest with you
• 35:55
  guys, and I talked to several people this morning, there was
• 35:59
  only two teams that engaged Kansas City and trade talks.
• 36:02
  That was the Titans, based on Beach's relationship with
• 36:05
  Borghansi. He used to work for him and the
• 36:07
  New York Jets. All the other teams like we're
• 36:09
  not going to help the Chiefs. And this is a this is a problem,
• 36:12
  OK. They weren't helping the Broncos
• 36:14
  either. So don't be too jumping for joy
• 36:16
  there. This is this is the way it's
• 36:19
  going to be. So I, I, I, I, I would love to
• 36:24
  have Breeze Hall. He would have been a perfect
• 36:26
  addition. Would have fit in great.
• 36:28
  Would have changed this often. In an overly.
• 36:31
  Dramatic way, but enough to give my hug more more room to work.
• 36:35
  And that's probably the scariest aspect of the whole thing.
• 36:38
  So now it's running back by committee.
• 36:40
  Get, proceed, get for sure Smith ready for a November, December
• 36:44
  run into January. Get him up to speed, get as many
• 36:46
  reps as possible and take your chances.
• 36:49
  But I was not shocked. Yeah, it would have been nice to
• 36:55
  have Hall. That's your guy.
• 36:56
  That's your guy. Smith right I.
• 36:59
  Think there's a lot of upside there.
• 37:00
  Don't know if it's going to be this season, but yeah, down the
• 37:03
  line he's going to be a real good one.
• 37:05
  Defensive line. You mentioned Quinn and Williams
• 37:07
  and and trying to be engaged on that one.
• 37:09
  I saw this number yesterday when they're talking about potential
• 37:11
  defensive line help for the Chiefs.
• 37:13
  Chris Jones and George Carlaftus have played the second and third
• 37:17
  most snaps on the defensive line in the NFL this season.
• 37:21
  Only Max Crosby has played a higher percentage at this point
• 37:24
  in time. There's a long season.
• 37:26
  Still in front of us is brace. Hall is a shiny object, right?
• 37:30
  You can put him on your fantasy team.
• 37:31
  It's fun. It's it's a new toy for Mahomes.
• 37:33
  But missing on a defensive lineman?
• 37:35
  Could that be even more impactful down the line?
• 37:38
  Yeah, I think so too. I mean, I was more upset that
• 37:40
  they didn't get a defensive lineman then then missing out on
• 37:44
  Bruce Hall are getting another running back.
• 37:46
  I listen, Chris Jones is playing too many snaps.
• 37:49
  George Carlos, you know, as much as I love the kid, he's been
• 37:53
  pretty ineffective this year. Chris Jones is not effective if
• 37:57
  they don't have a nose tackle. They brought Mike Finnell back
• 38:00
  that that didn't help much in this game.
• 38:03
  And I think I tribute that more to the fact that the Bills, just
• 38:06
  the Bills just brought it. I mean, they threw everything in
• 38:08
  the kitchen sink at the Chief defensively and it just kind of
• 38:12
  clicked. And some guys who've never made
• 38:13
  plays all year made plays. And that's what happens when
• 38:16
  you're aggressive. It's either you're going to get
• 38:18
  rewarded or you're going to get burned.
• 38:20
  And I think for Kansas City, for those two defensive lineman, you
• 38:23
  know, someone else has to step up.
• 38:25
  And you know, Mike Dana is, is an average pass rusher at best.
• 38:28
  And I think I'm being kind. They don't have speed a
• 38:31
  linebacker, which is the reason why these guys have to play so
• 38:33
  much upfront. So Bags has got his work cut out
• 38:37
  for him. He doesn't quite have the horses
• 38:39
  that he wants. Guys, we can sit here and we can
• 38:43
  rail on the defense. If the offense scores 28 to 32
• 38:47
  points, they're probably going to win that game.
• 38:49
  So it just it's a double edged sword for the Chiefs.
• 38:53
  But those two guys, they cannot play that many snaps going
• 38:57
  forward. Your thoughts on Mahomes day
• 39:00
  just under we only got like a 90 seconds left, Nick.
• 39:02
  So Mahomes numbers obviously on Mahomes.
• 39:05
  Like do we give Buffalo credit for that or just the off day for
• 39:09
  the Kansas City? Sacked 3 times, didn't throw a
• 39:12
  touchdown pass, was picked once. Yeah, I think two things
• 39:16
  happened. One, the offensive line once
• 39:18
  again kind of let him down. Jalen Moore had a really bad day
• 39:23
  and Josh Simmons will be back for Denver, so there's some hope
• 39:26
  there. You know, Trey Smith was hurt.
• 39:30
  They lost more, they lost the Taylor.
• 39:32
  I think the problem for my homes in this game was was pretty
• 39:35
  simple 1. He he held on to the ball too
• 39:38
  long. He had guys open, he tried to
• 39:40
  make bigger plays and he wasn't very mobile, which was a shock
• 39:44
  to me. And I just think the Bills had a
• 39:47
  great plan. They threw everything.
• 39:49
  I mean, what you saw the Bills do last weekend, they don't have
• 39:52
  any more tricks up their sleeves for the playoffs.
• 39:55
  So at least the Chiefs are going to have some time to adjust,
• 39:57
  assuming, A, they get to the playoffs and B, they play the
• 40:00
  Bills again. So I think from a home, just
• 40:03
  take a breath, relax, take what the defense gives you.
• 40:06
  We're trying to make the big play when it's not there.
• 40:08
  And I think this offense will be fine.
• 40:10
  But getting a healthy offensive line ready for Denver and what
• 40:15
  is going to be an absolute must. 100% win for Kansas City.
• 40:19
  Denver can afford to lose this game and not be hurt too much,
• 40:23
  but Kansas City have to win that game.
• 40:25
  Wish, Sir 10. Was playing don't think he is
• 40:27
  good stuff. Nick Athen, Chiefs blitz.com,
• 40:30
  Chiefs blitz.com for Nick Athen and all your Chiefs information.
• 40:34
  Nick, we'll talk to you next week.
• 40:35
  Thank you. Appreciate you jumping on.
• 40:37
  All right, guys. Thanks for having me.
• 40:38
  Yeah, good to talk. To you, Nick Athan, as we take a
• 40:40
  look at the Chiefs. Chiefs are going to.
• 40:42
  Win their last five games of the regular season.
• 40:44
  What they are, they are. They are but the three they play
• 40:47
  the Broncos on. Christmas night, yeah.
• 40:49
  At home, yeah, they'll. Rattle.
• 40:51
  But they got to go to Denver. They got the Colts tough and
• 40:55
  then the Cowboys on Thanksgiving, tricky. 11:00 and
• 40:58
  6:00. Hour 2 coming up next, Miller
• 41:02
  and Condon, glad you're with us. Hope you'll stay with us on the
• 41:04
  Iowa Sports Radio Network.