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Coach Firings, Dolphins - Bills Wildcard, & The Future of Aaron Rodgers · NFL Now

0:05
Speaker 1: NFL Now is a production of the NFL in partnership
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Speaker 1: with I Heart Radio Group brand as fast as you can.
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Speaker 1: You're not tantize do it darts what they tribute to
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Speaker 1: the marrow it a golf the playoffs. That's up and
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Speaker 1: it is good. Welcome down, gone down It for the
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Speaker 1: totdown Jack. When the amt sown fourteen yards for number thirty.
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Speaker 1: Chargers are headed to the postseason. Cannon again and Canada
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Speaker 1: limit in the year too, did ye change is? Gods
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Speaker 1: win the games? Heart Chase Thinner Cowboys are at the playoffs.
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Speaker 1: They just go in with a sticker taking on Tom
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Speaker 1: Brady and the Bucks. Vikings thirteen and four division champion
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Speaker 1: of Kansas. Say Chans are the one seed in the
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Speaker 1: a f C. The Eagles secure the number one seed
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Speaker 1: in the NFC and after two hundred and seventy two games,
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Speaker 1: here we are welcome to a Monday edition of NFL
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Speaker 1: Now on NFL Network. Regular season done playoffs right around
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Speaker 1: the corner. My name is Andrew Ceciliano. Great to have
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Speaker 1: you as always, Steve. Yeah, it's always an interesting day
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Speaker 1: the Monday after the final regular season game, because we
1:28
Speaker 1: have coaches getting fired, we have playoff pictures to be set,
1:31
Speaker 1: a lot of interesting stuff to get to be. It's
1:33
Speaker 1: gonna lead into the off season, including the team that's
1:38
Speaker 1: got the number one pick Andrew something you've been talking
1:40
Speaker 1: about for more than a week because you said it's
1:41
Speaker 1: gonna be the Bear and it is. George McCaskey handing
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Speaker 1: out ice cream bars yesterday to celebrate. We'll get to
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Speaker 1: that in a second. Also, get to the coaching news
1:48
Speaker 1: in a second. But here is your playoff schedule to
1:51
Speaker 1: open it up on Super wild Card weekend, Steve, I
1:53
Speaker 1: hate when people quiz me on the air, but I'm
1:55
Speaker 1: going to do it to you. Okay, do you know
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Speaker 1: what all these games haven't come? The playoff games? Other
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Speaker 1: than that that's a good answer, though you are. These
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Speaker 1: are the fourteen teams that qualified for I hate when
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Speaker 1: people do this to me. No, I'm sorry. They're all
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Speaker 1: rematches from the regulars. The rematches from the regular season, obviously,
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Speaker 1: like Ravens Bengals. That's a division game. Seahawks Niners, that's
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Speaker 1: a division game. These are all rematches. We'll get scratches
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Speaker 1: stiff did and scratchy that's different. Alright, breaking news here.
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Speaker 1: I mentioned we have five coaching vacancies. This one in
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Speaker 1: Arizona is the latest. Came down about an hour ago.
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Speaker 1: Cliff Kingsbury is out after four seasons as heads coached
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Speaker 1: there a four win season in his fourth season, and
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Speaker 1: also Steve Kim is out. The Cardinals in the announcement
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Speaker 1: that Kingsbury is fired, announced that Steve Kim is stepping
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Speaker 1: down as the Cardinals general manager. Last month he had
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Speaker 1: stepped aside to focus on his health, had taken a
3:00
Speaker 1: leave of absence. Regardless, he had been there for twenty
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Speaker 1: four years as a member of the organization. So Ian, Rappaport,
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Speaker 1: Mike are fuller with me now to make sense of
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Speaker 1: the news and try to spend this forward here, Michael
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Speaker 1: bid will Ian, the Cardinals owner, now has two big
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Speaker 1: jobs to fill. Yeah, and that's and that really is significant.
3:20
Speaker 1: Let me explain why because over the last couple of years,
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Speaker 1: and really over the last coaching several coaching hires, Michael
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Speaker 1: Bidwell and Steve Kim have worked hand in hand to
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Speaker 1: bring them in from Bruce Arians all the way to
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Speaker 1: Cliff Kingsbury and anywhere in between, assistant coaches setting up
3:35
Speaker 1: the building all of the hires. This has been Michael
3:38
Speaker 1: Bidwill's sounding board. Now Steve com takes a leave of
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Speaker 1: absence to focus on his health and then steps down
3:44
Speaker 1: to focus on his health officially out. So the fact
3:46
Speaker 1: that the Arizona Carlos have fired Cliff Kingsbury means that
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Speaker 1: it is simply the owner and a couple of former
3:54
Speaker 1: Steve Kin lieutenants now in the building. It remains to
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Speaker 1: be seen which direction Michael bidd Will goes, but we
4:00
Speaker 1: know this, Mike. It has been a disaster of a
4:03
Speaker 1: year for the arizondercon was given everyone contract extensions in
4:07
Speaker 1: this offseason to the new contract with Kyle Murray which
4:10
Speaker 1: included that studying clause which Bob and everybody's faces and
4:13
Speaker 1: everything on the field happened, which was all bad. And
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Speaker 1: now they faced the prospect of having to hire a
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Speaker 1: new coach. And I would say this, I'm not so
4:21
Speaker 1: sure Cliff Kingsbury is mad about this decision today. I
4:24
Speaker 1: don't think so. No, we talked about it before. Cliff
4:26
Speaker 1: Kingsbury cut off a reporter a couple of weeks ago.
4:29
Speaker 1: I'm not as badly as I cut you off earlier.
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Speaker 1: He and I apologize again for that, but he cut
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Speaker 1: off a reporter who said, hey, Cliff, you've been a
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Speaker 1: head coach now for ten years, and he said, feels
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Speaker 1: like a hundred. And I think that feeling was felt
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Speaker 1: through the entire organization here and now they have two
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Speaker 1: big jobs to fill, uh Mike. In Houston, Nickossario is
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Speaker 1: still there as general manager. Seems with the release yesterday,
4:49
Speaker 1: he's going to stay there, I think as general manager,
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Speaker 1: but once again he's looking for a new head coach.
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Speaker 1: In Houston, they are one and done first with David Culley,
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Speaker 1: now with Lovey Smith. After Lovey goes out with a
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Speaker 1: go for a two point conversion and the Texans lose
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Speaker 1: the first overhaul pick, I mean, wow, Lovey Smith didn't
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Speaker 1: coach that game yesterday knowing for sure he'd be fired.
5:13
Speaker 1: Uh Ian Rappaport uh mentioned it over the weekend. I
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Speaker 1: talked about it the last week, so he wasn't oblivious
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Speaker 1: to it. So I think it was more, Hey, look,
5:22
Speaker 1: if I'm gonna keep this job, i gotta show him
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Speaker 1: I can win a game. But also if I'm leaving,
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Speaker 1: I'm taking that number one pick with me. So Lovely
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Speaker 1: Smith did exactly that. He's out twenty plus million the
5:32
Speaker 1: rest of the way, So financially he's gonna be just fine.
5:34
Speaker 1: They're paying David Culley a bunch of money, and now
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Speaker 1: they're gonna pay their fourth coach in four years when
5:39
Speaker 1: they hire their next coach. And yes, Andrew, you are correct. Uh.
5:42
Speaker 1: Nick Kissario the general manager, will be part of that
5:45
Speaker 1: search process. Cal McNair, the owner, making it clear in
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Speaker 1: his statement yesterday. So Cassario, uh and McNair get to
5:51
Speaker 1: hire one more coach one more time here. Don't forget
5:53
Speaker 1: Jack Easterby was with the organization. He was a big
5:55
Speaker 1: part of it. He's gone been a lot of turnover
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Speaker 1: in Houston. Uh, they've got the number two pick. Let's
6:01
Speaker 1: see what they do with it. Meanwhile, a former co
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Speaker 1: worker of Nick's, a AREO and that's Bill Belichick up
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Speaker 1: there in New England told reporters today that he will
6:09
Speaker 1: return for his NFL or four season as the coach
6:14
Speaker 1: of the Patriots. Many more in the NFL, but as
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Speaker 1: the coach of the Patriots, says eight and nine. Yeah,
6:19
Speaker 1: that's nice, good enough. We've got to be better. Also,
6:21
Speaker 1: asked specifically about mac Jones, who regressed in pretty much
6:25
Speaker 1: every statistical category this year, he says he's got to
6:28
Speaker 1: be better. We've got to be better at that position.
6:30
Speaker 1: So he didn't commit to Matt to mac Jones. And
6:33
Speaker 1: you see Matt Patricia there, who was calling the plays
6:35
Speaker 1: this year as the de facto offensive coordinator. Quite possible
6:39
Speaker 1: that there is a change there. Ian has mentioned Bill O'Brien.
6:42
Speaker 1: Others have mentioned Cliff Kingsbury has got a connection to Belichick.
6:45
Speaker 1: But I agree with Ian. I don't see Kingsbury saying, hey,
6:48
Speaker 1: I can't wait to jump back into coaching, let alone
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Speaker 1: as an offensive coordinator. So let's see what they do
6:53
Speaker 1: up there in New England. The connection being Bill Belichick
6:55
Speaker 1: drafted Cliff Kingsbury out of college and he was there
6:57
Speaker 1: a couple of years with Tom brady um as a
7:00
Speaker 1: backup quarterback. Okay, let's get to Sean mcphigh and try
7:03
Speaker 1: to figure out what's going on here. Rams fought hard yesterday.
7:06
Speaker 1: None to please are the officiating there down the stretch.
7:08
Speaker 1: They lost Seattle one. Seattle is in, but McVeigh is
7:12
Speaker 1: coming off the collectively here and the injuries played a
7:16
Speaker 1: huge part of this and the worst season ever for
7:19
Speaker 1: a defending Super Bowl champion. He said last week that
7:24
Speaker 1: he views this season as a professional failure. He expanded
7:27
Speaker 1: a little bit more on that'sid not not just a
7:29
Speaker 1: personal failure. Obviously a lot of things went wrong, and
7:33
Speaker 1: now the Rams are kind of waiting for Sean McVeigh
7:35
Speaker 1: ian to figure out what it is he wants to do.
7:39
Speaker 1: And the Rams, no, the Rams knew all this was coming. Injury.
7:41
Speaker 1: He's had extensive conversations with the Rams over the course
7:45
Speaker 1: of the last couple of weeks, being very honest as
7:47
Speaker 1: he has always two reporters, just about what he's going through.
7:50
Speaker 1: And you know, it's important to remember, Andrew that these
7:52
Speaker 1: are human beings on the sideline. Despite John the Big
7:55
Speaker 1: Bay being probably smarter than anyone else maybe ever, he
7:59
Speaker 1: is also a human being. And this has been difficult.
8:01
Speaker 1: It's been frustrating, mentally, taxing, challenging all and it was
8:06
Speaker 1: hard last year except they won the Super Bowl. Think
8:08
Speaker 1: about how difficult it was on him, wearing on him
8:11
Speaker 1: someone who takes on so so so much responsibilities and
8:15
Speaker 1: also losing. So he's gonna take a couple a little
8:18
Speaker 1: bit of time, he's gonna step away, and he's gonna
8:20
Speaker 1: see if he wants to come back. And I don't
8:22
Speaker 1: know that I'd be surprised with any decision he makes
8:25
Speaker 1: right now. Frankly, yeah, I'm with it here, and he's
8:28
Speaker 1: gonna take his time. Might be a week, might be
8:30
Speaker 1: two weeks. Either way, the Rams are gonna be patient
8:33
Speaker 1: with him, um, but eventually they're gonna have to figure
8:36
Speaker 1: this out here as they try to figure out how
8:38
Speaker 1: to navigate the offseason. Thank you, Ian, and thank you Mike.
8:42
Speaker 1: All Right, Steve, you cover the Rams a lot. We're
8:44
Speaker 1: both obviously in that building a lot here. As Ian said,
8:47
Speaker 1: they knew this was coming. This has been no superlating
8:50
Speaker 1: for a little and by the way, they are not
8:52
Speaker 1: surprised here go back de Shawn's first or second or
8:55
Speaker 1: third year that eventually he would need a break. He
8:59
Speaker 1: burns pretty hot and it works. They won last year. Honestly,
9:04
Speaker 1: I was kind of surprised, forget about the TV money,
9:07
Speaker 1: that he came back this season, only because he kind
9:12
Speaker 1: of felt this way last year as well. Yeah, I mean,
9:14
Speaker 1: and they said he burns kind of hot. I mean,
9:16
Speaker 1: the thing that makes him great is the fact that
9:18
Speaker 1: he runs at a completely different gear than most. That's
9:21
Speaker 1: a compliment, and that's a compliment. It's been successful, but
9:25
Speaker 1: you know, to operate in that red line for as
9:28
Speaker 1: long as he has. At some point he did, he
9:30
Speaker 1: did he decompress. I mean, he's there's a there's a
9:32
Speaker 1: lot of things going on. And let's not forget this too.
9:34
Speaker 1: Every year they lose three or four coaches coordinators to
9:39
Speaker 1: other teams, and he's got to retrain his coaches and
9:42
Speaker 1: everybody else to fit this year, and and and that
9:45
Speaker 1: was a big part of that. The coaching train finally
9:47
Speaker 1: caught up to them as well. And so you know
9:49
Speaker 1: a lot of people are gonna say, Okay, they lost.
9:51
Speaker 1: So he doesn't want to push through it to try
9:53
Speaker 1: to win. He might, they just don't know. If they
9:55
Speaker 1: could players healthy next year, they can be competitive again.
9:58
Speaker 1: But again, for his personal well being, he's still a
10:00
Speaker 1: young guy. He may need to take a step away.
10:03
Speaker 1: And as he just said, we'll see if you decide
10:05
Speaker 1: he wants to come back to the Rams and that
10:07
Speaker 1: allow him back if he's going to coach again at
10:09
Speaker 1: any point, which he probably will, but this might need
10:12
Speaker 1: to be a simmer down period. And as we said,
10:15
Speaker 1: none of this is catching the Rams off guard. They've
10:17
Speaker 1: known for a while this is a possibility, and they
10:18
Speaker 1: would leave the door open for him. He is thirty
10:21
Speaker 1: six years old, as you said, lost his grandfather this year,
10:25
Speaker 1: the great John McVeigh forty Niners legend um, his his wife,
10:30
Speaker 1: Veronica's family. Obviously back in Ukraine, there has been a lot,
10:33
Speaker 1: a lot here and you know what, if you need time, hey,
10:37
Speaker 1: ye take it. That's the way the Rams are looking
10:39
Speaker 1: at it here. All right, let's move on here and
10:41
Speaker 1: let's get to some of these other highlights in the NFC.
10:43
Speaker 1: The Cowboys came into the shot at the number one
10:45
Speaker 1: seed in the conference. Obviously it didn't happen now because
10:48
Speaker 1: the Eagles won, But the Cowboys did not make a
10:50
Speaker 1: good closing statement. Week A team Sam Howe made a
10:53
Speaker 1: lot of plays. They turned the ball over a bunch early,
10:55
Speaker 1: gave them short fields. There's a touchdown to Terry McLaurin.
10:59
Speaker 1: But a big part of this as well, as we
11:01
Speaker 1: spin it forward here, as we spin it to the
11:04
Speaker 1: wild card round, in the fact that Dak Prescott didn't
11:06
Speaker 1: play well do that pick six to Kendall Fuller and
11:09
Speaker 1: the Cowboys got with a loss twenty six to six.
11:13
Speaker 1: And Mike McCarthy is now getting ready for a rematch
11:15
Speaker 1: a week one where they lost to Tom Brady and
11:17
Speaker 1: the Bucketeers in Tampa. Brady and the Bucks closed out
11:21
Speaker 1: yesterday by losing in Atlantic. Brady played most of the
11:26
Speaker 1: first half. There were a touchdown there to Kyle Rudolf.
11:28
Speaker 1: In the second half, he watched Blaine Gabbett and others
11:31
Speaker 1: do the work, and he watched Desmond Ritter throw a
11:33
Speaker 1: couple of touchdowns and hand this ball to Core Darrell
11:35
Speaker 1: Patterson and Arthur Smith and the Falcon's close out with
11:38
Speaker 1: a win. And now, Todd Bowles, we get a week
11:42
Speaker 1: one wild Card Monday night primetime rematch. You know, we
11:48
Speaker 1: got Brady, they got Dak, they got Jerry, they got
11:53
Speaker 1: the Star. You know, we won the past two years,
11:56
Speaker 1: so you know, both games have been great games. So
12:00
Speaker 1: that's one probably will two Todd Bowles. Sarah Walsh asked
12:04
Speaker 1: about the fact that this is the last game on
12:05
Speaker 1: Super wild Card weekend. These guys in prime time, the
12:09
Speaker 1: Mundane Night affair, so they've got a way a while,
12:12
Speaker 1: but they certainly know the Cowboys because they've seen him.
12:15
Speaker 1: What else did Todd Bowls say, Well, look, it wasn't
12:19
Speaker 1: always pretty this season getting to this point. Tye Bowls
12:22
Speaker 1: understands that but today he did give credit to his
12:25
Speaker 1: team's resiliency and their toughness. So I said, what gives
12:28
Speaker 1: you confidence when you look at the body of work
12:30
Speaker 1: over the course of this regular season that this team
12:33
Speaker 1: and he's harped on the fact that they haven't seen
12:35
Speaker 1: a lot of consistency, they've really seen it all four quarters.
12:37
Speaker 1: I said, what makes you feel like this team can
12:39
Speaker 1: really turn it on and make a run here? And
12:41
Speaker 1: he said, because we're always in it in the end.
12:43
Speaker 1: He said, this team finds a way to be in
12:45
Speaker 1: it at the end of the game. And that's pretty
12:47
Speaker 1: much true. Aside from a loss to the Chiefs, the Niners,
12:50
Speaker 1: and an early season loss that the Panthers, this Buccaneers
12:53
Speaker 1: team has really been in every game and they certainly
12:56
Speaker 1: have the confidence from that. And a lot of that
12:58
Speaker 1: obviously goes to the guy who's playing quarterback there that
13:00
Speaker 1: if they just find a way to stick in it
13:02
Speaker 1: long enough, they can pull out a win. Now, it
13:05
Speaker 1: is tough to judge what kind of momentum this Bucks
13:07
Speaker 1: team goes in and Andrew, you were just touching on
13:09
Speaker 1: it how they looked in Atlanta, because Tom Brady was
13:11
Speaker 1: pulled after five possessions. Two weeks ago against the Panthers,
13:15
Speaker 1: we really saw this Buccaneer's offense look better than it
13:17
Speaker 1: had all season long, when Tom Brady was throwing deep
13:20
Speaker 1: balls to Mike Evans. We didn't necessarily see that yesterday
13:23
Speaker 1: in Atlanta, but again, guys were pulled. They go into
13:25
Speaker 1: this on a loss. But again, how do you judge
13:28
Speaker 1: essentially meaningless game. This Buccaneers team did feel great two
13:31
Speaker 1: weeks ago. They felt like things are heading in the
13:33
Speaker 1: right direction. And then what gives them confidence? You also
13:35
Speaker 1: mentioned this, Andrew, They've got a Cowboys team coming here,
13:38
Speaker 1: and this Cowboys team is who they opened the season with.
13:41
Speaker 1: And week one, Todd Bowles was asked, was that the
13:43
Speaker 1: most complete game you guys have played all year? Because
13:45
Speaker 1: it was really a resounding Bucks victory, and he said, no,
13:48
Speaker 1: I think we left some things out on the field.
13:50
Speaker 1: And that one this of course, the first time Tom
13:52
Speaker 1: Brady has had a losing season in his career. But
13:55
Speaker 1: you can throw that all out the window because the
13:57
Speaker 1: one thing, as you know, he cares about most is
13:59
Speaker 1: still in front of him, and that is a chance
14:02
Speaker 1: to potentially be playing for a Super Bowl ring once again.
14:05
Speaker 1: Andrew they get in at eight and nine. But they
14:08
Speaker 1: get in and they get a home game. Thank you
14:11
Speaker 1: Sarah Walsh. They're live in Tampa. Here's what the NFC
14:14
Speaker 1: bracket looks like. The Eagles have the week off, they
14:16
Speaker 1: get to buy we have rematch to the NFC West
14:19
Speaker 1: in the first game. We got a rematch there. The
14:21
Speaker 1: Giants gone back to Minnesota Sunday four thirty Eastern time
14:25
Speaker 1: and then primetime Monday Night Football with Joe and Troy
14:31
Speaker 1: Bucks and the Cowboys. I know they have a losing
14:34
Speaker 1: record here, but this is not an easy out here whatsoever.
14:39
Speaker 1: I mean, they've lost there. The Cowboys lost their week
14:41
Speaker 1: Jan Baldie, what do you think of this one? Well,
14:44
Speaker 1: it's it's it's really an analyst dream because there's so
14:47
Speaker 1: many different ways to kind of break this one down.
14:48
Speaker 1: But one thing, if you go back to that Week
14:50
Speaker 1: one game where Tampa really thumped the Cowboys that night
14:55
Speaker 1: Levin four, Nett had his best game as a Buck.
14:58
Speaker 1: I mean, Big Lady came there and during the pandemic
15:00
Speaker 1: two thousand and twenty best game he has played as
15:02
Speaker 1: a Buck was Week one. They had seven yards and
15:06
Speaker 1: the Bucks really haven't run the ball quite like that since.
15:09
Speaker 1: But this weakness of Dollas in the run defense shows
15:13
Speaker 1: up every once a while. Showed up in Green Bay
15:16
Speaker 1: in their fourth quarter collapse to the package. It showed
15:18
Speaker 1: up in a loss to the Eagles early in the year. Um,
15:22
Speaker 1: if they can't stop Big Lenny, they're gonna get a
15:24
Speaker 1: bit pretty good dose of it. And we know that
15:26
Speaker 1: and feel that Brady will only play better if he
15:30
Speaker 1: gets protection of from his run game and the play
15:32
Speaker 1: action passes that he can get off of it. And
15:35
Speaker 1: so I'm sure that the Cowboys are gonna get a
15:37
Speaker 1: pretty steady dose a Big Lenny Rashad White early in
15:41
Speaker 1: this game to see if they can kind of quell
15:44
Speaker 1: the running game that the Bucks showed in that Week
15:47
Speaker 1: one victory. We saw Lenny do great on Christmas. We
15:50
Speaker 1: saw Lenny Week one, as you mentioned it, his only
15:52
Speaker 1: hundred yard rushing performance of the year. Thank you, Brian Baldinger.
15:57
Speaker 1: Bucks Cowboys prime Time one week from tonight. Coming up next,
16:03
Speaker 1: Josh Allen gets the Dolphins again, and how we saw
16:06
Speaker 1: Buffalo magic Sunday in Orchard Park. The best thing I
16:20
Speaker 1: saw on Sunday wasn't the kick return. It wasn't the
16:23
Speaker 1: show a love for TOMR. Hamlet. It was the fact
16:25
Speaker 1: that themar Hamlet was able to tweet. Look at this
16:27
Speaker 1: photo here him and his family in his Cincinnati hospital bed.
16:31
Speaker 1: He could make that part sign he could watch the game.
16:34
Speaker 1: He could tweet during the game when he saw Niheim
16:38
Speaker 1: Hines open it up in Orchard Park against the Patriots
16:43
Speaker 1: with a nineties six yard kick off return for a touchdock.
16:50
Speaker 1: I mean, what a moment. I don't know that I've
16:53
Speaker 1: ever seen a moment like that on a field. Josh
16:56
Speaker 1: Allen called it spiritual after the game, and everyone had chills,
17:01
Speaker 1: not just because it was cold. And then he did
17:03
Speaker 1: it again. He did again better than yards one and
17:08
Speaker 1: one yards that hem Hynes ran back two of these
17:11
Speaker 1: things yesterday, and the Bills needed them because the Patriots
17:15
Speaker 1: played well. They were fighting for their playoff lives. You know,
17:17
Speaker 1: bite out. They didn't get it because not only was
17:22
Speaker 1: it the special team, it was the inability to stop
17:25
Speaker 1: Josh Allen from making superhuman plays. Buffalo is in Sean
17:29
Speaker 1: McDermott and the Bills are in as the two seed
17:32
Speaker 1: in the a f C. It was, you know, like
17:36
Speaker 1: I said, going to the game, a lot of unknown's
17:38
Speaker 1: just not sure how the players are going to handle it. Um.
17:41
Speaker 1: I feel like I had a pretty good control on
17:43
Speaker 1: how I was going to handle it, but you know,
17:45
Speaker 1: you never know, um again, just because it was a
17:48
Speaker 1: new situation for us and we're all thinking of tomorrow
17:51
Speaker 1: and his family, Um, you know what. And then we
17:54
Speaker 1: come out with the first the first play there, and
17:56
Speaker 1: it's kind of surreal watching nahim um you know, score,
18:02
Speaker 1: and and then I was more concerned, I guess it's
18:04
Speaker 1: just speak right, but more concerned about the next play
18:07
Speaker 1: and the ensuing three quarters and how that was gonna, um,
18:11
Speaker 1: you know, be handled there. So but again, our guys
18:14
Speaker 1: came in halftime, made the adjustments they needed to make,
18:16
Speaker 1: and then uh, and then we went on Poinever Sean McDermot.
18:20
Speaker 1: They're wearing that three hats. The bill is now getting
18:22
Speaker 1: ready for the postseason. They get ready for the Miami Dolphins,
18:25
Speaker 1: the team they saw a couple of weeks ago on
18:27
Speaker 1: that Saturday and night. That game was a three point
18:30
Speaker 1: win Mike Gardi three point win for Sean McDermott's team.
18:34
Speaker 1: Mike Live with Us in Orchard Park. Josh Allen made
18:38
Speaker 1: a lot of big place so to the Dolphins for
18:39
Speaker 1: that matter that day. But can they expect the same
18:43
Speaker 1: kind of offensive success this time around against that Miami defense. Well,
18:49
Speaker 1: andrew from following this team all year long, and obviously
18:51
Speaker 1: we saw what they did in the first five or
18:53
Speaker 1: six weeks when they were the most explosive offense and
18:55
Speaker 1: national football leak, and everyone had already put them in
18:57
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl too. Then sort of a little bit
18:59
Speaker 1: of a backslide. And when I say a little bit
19:01
Speaker 1: of a backslide, it's only because they went from averaging
19:03
Speaker 1: about thirty five points again to about twenty six or
19:06
Speaker 1: twenty seven, and people are worried about the offense and
19:09
Speaker 1: their inability to produce at that same level. And I
19:12
Speaker 1: think in that game against Miami, that was the best
19:16
Speaker 1: that the Buffalo offense has looked to me in the
19:18
Speaker 1: second half of the year. And there were three straight
19:21
Speaker 1: drives when they scored touchdowns where it was prime Josh Allen,
19:24
Speaker 1: there was prime Stefon Diggs. They were spreading the ball around, you,
19:28
Speaker 1: Gabe Davis, Dawson, Knox, all these players getting involved. They're
19:30
Speaker 1: running with Singletary and Cook. I mean, it was just
19:32
Speaker 1: perfect balance and it was everything that I think Sean
19:35
Speaker 1: McDermott had been hoping for and Ken Dorson had continued
19:38
Speaker 1: to work with them the offensive coordinator on getting back
19:41
Speaker 1: to that spot. And you know, we talked about all
19:44
Speaker 1: this stuff. Josh is still dealing with the elbow. It's
19:46
Speaker 1: still on the injury report, it's still is a factor
19:50
Speaker 1: in this. And yet yesterday we saw him throw sixty
19:53
Speaker 1: two air yards the Stefon Diggs from the hash to
19:57
Speaker 1: the far sideline, and I'm not even sure that was
19:59
Speaker 1: the best throw he made because I think that throw
20:01
Speaker 1: on the run the improv you know what I'm trying
20:04
Speaker 1: to say. That word to John Smoke Brown was ridiculous
20:09
Speaker 1: and and Smoke made a phenomenal catch, which credit to
20:11
Speaker 1: him because he hasn't been active in the last couple
20:13
Speaker 1: of weeks and hasn't played a ton of football and
20:14
Speaker 1: the last a couple of years. But to put that
20:17
Speaker 1: ball and drop it the way he did, I mean
20:21
Speaker 1: the chef's kiss and whatever. Again, whatever that word is,
20:24
Speaker 1: you know that word? I was talking about his cold.
20:26
Speaker 1: I'm tired. I'm not gonna say it. J B is
20:28
Speaker 1: trying to tell I know what the word is. I
20:29
Speaker 1: just couldn't. I couldn't say it, Andrew. I didn't want
20:31
Speaker 1: to come out, Mike. What's the temperature? There's just curious
20:35
Speaker 1: um So I think the real feels about twenty ish.
20:40
Speaker 1: The wind is probably about it's you know whatever, Buffalo,
20:45
Speaker 1: this is nothing. This is a light day. People are
20:46
Speaker 1: walking around in shorts. Traffic and weather on the threes.
20:49
Speaker 1: Mike Giardi and Orchard parts there, but he's been camped there.
20:53
Speaker 1: Andrew could come here and hold I need to be held,
20:55
Speaker 1: somebody holding me. You're losing it, dude. I'll get on
20:58
Speaker 1: the plane now. I don't think I can fly direct
21:00
Speaker 1: to Buffalo. Can I fly direct that later Buffalo anymore?
21:03
Speaker 1: I don't think so, Mike. We all need a hug.
21:05
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers needed a hug after the game last night.
21:09
Speaker 1: We'll hear from Aaron Rodgers what he said on the
21:11
Speaker 1: podium as he walks off arm and arm with Randall
21:14
Speaker 1: cop As for the Green Bay Packers, they are not
21:23
Speaker 1: in as the seventh overall seed in the NFC. You
21:26
Speaker 1: know this by now. Give credit to the Lions here.
21:29
Speaker 1: Give credit to Kirby Joseph, who becomes the first player
21:32
Speaker 1: to pick off Aaron Rodgers three times in a season.
21:34
Speaker 1: By the way, he's a rookie. Had this pick with
21:37
Speaker 1: three and a half to go at a deep shot
21:38
Speaker 1: and attended for Christian Watson and the Lions didn't give
21:41
Speaker 1: the ball back. Didn't give it back. Dan Campbell's knows
21:44
Speaker 1: we checked is okay today, it's okay. The Lions have
21:48
Speaker 1: thought out and they do so with a victory because
21:51
Speaker 1: on fourth and one they went for it. They threw
21:53
Speaker 1: to d j hr that into the game. Kids and
21:56
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers now after eighteen seasons, ponders the future. Where
22:05
Speaker 1: do you stand on what do you want to do
22:07
Speaker 1: next year? I mean it's a little raw right now.
22:09
Speaker 1: You know, it's just a little bit after the game.
22:11
Speaker 1: So uh, I want to take the emotion out of
22:15
Speaker 1: it and have the conversations and see where the organizations
22:20
Speaker 1: at and see how I feel after some time has past.
22:25
Speaker 1: Is there any sort of timetable in day during like
22:27
Speaker 1: a date where you want to make your decision by yeah,
22:29
Speaker 1: I mean I'm not going to hold them hostage, you know,
22:33
Speaker 1: I understand. Uh. You know we're still in January here
22:36
Speaker 1: marches fore agency. So um, we just need some time to,
22:43
Speaker 1: like I said, get the emotion out of it. And
22:45
Speaker 1: then figure out what's best. So if they wanted to
22:51
Speaker 1: move on or at least we're open to it, would
22:53
Speaker 1: you be open to that too, or to go into
22:57
Speaker 1: a different team? Yeah, I don't know. I mean, I
23:01
Speaker 1: don't like saying never, but um, I gotta see I'm
23:07
Speaker 1: feeling first, once the emotions out of it, and then
23:12
Speaker 1: have the right conversations and see see what the best
23:16
Speaker 1: direction is. You know, you want to go out when
23:18
Speaker 1: the super Bowl, but it's very rare that that actually
23:21
Speaker 1: gets to happen. Um, I don't want to, you know,
23:26
Speaker 1: lose your last game h and miss out in the playoffs.
23:30
Speaker 1: But this is a great profession and a really tough
23:36
Speaker 1: business and doesn't always end with rainbows for everybody. Life
23:41
Speaker 1: and the season is like a big ceremony, and ceremonies
23:45
Speaker 1: canna be tough. You gotta go through some stuff and
23:48
Speaker 1: a lot of lessons to be learned. And as much
23:51
Speaker 1: as this is a real feeling, missing the playoffs and
23:55
Speaker 1: losing home like this, I'm thankful for the season. I'm
23:58
Speaker 1: thankful for the friendships that got strengthened, the new friendships,
24:04
Speaker 1: the moments on the field, off the field. At CHABS
24:08
Speaker 1: on Friday, nights with the crew and everything in between. Um,
24:14
Speaker 1: that's the beauty in this game. It's given me a lot,
24:16
Speaker 1: and I'm really thankful for it. What would make you
24:18
Speaker 1: say not enough? For it's time? I mean, I just
24:28
Speaker 1: it's a feeling. Do I feel like I have any
24:32
Speaker 1: anything left to prove to myself? Do I want to
24:35
Speaker 1: go back and gear up for another grind? Where is
24:39
Speaker 1: it time? Is it time to step away? Is it
24:41
Speaker 1: time for another voice to be leading this team? Um?
24:46
Speaker 1: I think I need to get away and contemplate those
24:50
Speaker 1: things and those are real, those are real to men.
24:52
Speaker 1: I'm you know, I have a lot of pride and
24:54
Speaker 1: what I have accomplished this league. But uh, I'm also realist,
24:59
Speaker 1: and um, I understand where we're as a team. We're
25:02
Speaker 1: a young team. There could be some changes with some
25:05
Speaker 1: of the older guys, and you know, it could be
25:11
Speaker 1: time to step away. But I could take some time
25:15
Speaker 1: and say, oh no, man, I need to I need
25:18
Speaker 1: to get back out there and go on another run
25:22
Speaker 1: at some point to care. So it comes to a
25:24
Speaker 1: stop and it's time to get off. And I think
25:27
Speaker 1: you you kind of know when that is, um, and
25:31
Speaker 1: that's what needs to be contemplated, you know, is it time? Also,
25:36
Speaker 1: what's the organization doing? You know, it's it's part of
25:38
Speaker 1: it as well. Could you really walk away from that,
25:41
Speaker 1: from that contract? I mean, that's an enormous amount of
25:45
Speaker 1: money and you can guarantee it. I was, I'm assuming
25:47
Speaker 1: for a reason. He has to work to be guaranteed
25:49
Speaker 1: for a reason. Yes, money is energy, and I have
25:58
Speaker 1: made a ton of it, and I'm very thankful for
26:00
Speaker 1: this organization the generational wealth that they've offer me. Hopefully,
26:06
Speaker 1: I feel like that I've earned a lot of it.
26:09
Speaker 1: But yeah, for sure, I can definitely walk away from that,
26:14
Speaker 1: walk away from fifty million next year. A lot to
26:17
Speaker 1: unpack there, Kurt Warner, Mark Ross start with Stacy Dales,
26:21
Speaker 1: who was in Green Bay, was there for the game,
26:23
Speaker 1: was in the room last night listening to Aaron Rodgers.
26:25
Speaker 1: What do you think all that, Stacy? Yeah, a lot
26:29
Speaker 1: to unpack, pun intended Andrew and gentlemen. Uh, it was
26:33
Speaker 1: almost as expected because we really got no answers, and
26:37
Speaker 1: we shouldn't. I mean, Rogers talked immediately about how Raw
26:39
Speaker 1: coming off of that loss to the Detroit Lions and
26:42
Speaker 1: an effort to go to the playoffs was and he
26:44
Speaker 1: wants to remove emotions from it. Now, I wouldn't be
26:47
Speaker 1: surprised if one of three scenarios happens. He retires as
26:51
Speaker 1: a Green Bay Packer, he goes to another team, or
26:54
Speaker 1: he stays here and he plays and extends his career
26:57
Speaker 1: as a green Bay Packer. Because all of that is
26:59
Speaker 1: what he put on the table for us. My takeaways
27:02
Speaker 1: from it were off of Jim Trotter's question in terms
27:05
Speaker 1: of the variables, when he asked him, you know, what
27:08
Speaker 1: would those things be that would entice you to come
27:10
Speaker 1: back and play? He said, Do I feel like I
27:13
Speaker 1: have anything left to prove? Do I feel like I
27:15
Speaker 1: want to get up for another grind? Is it time
27:17
Speaker 1: to step away? For another voice to leave? I eat
27:19
Speaker 1: Jordan's love. It's a young team. He talked about the
27:22
Speaker 1: youth on this team, and he talked about the veterans.
27:24
Speaker 1: Would some of those veterans be coming back? And so,
27:27
Speaker 1: as I reflect on this, I think about you, Kurt.
27:30
Speaker 1: You're a multi year m v P or a Hall
27:32
Speaker 1: of Famer, Aaron Rodgers, multi year m VP, super Bowl champions,
27:36
Speaker 1: all of it. He's gonna be a Hall of Famer.
27:38
Speaker 1: What goes into this decision, and I would finish with
27:40
Speaker 1: this by the way, as I throw it to you,
27:42
Speaker 1: I've talked to a couple of Packers personnel here today.
27:45
Speaker 1: They want this unlike maybe last year or the year before.
27:49
Speaker 1: They want this to go expeditiously with. They want decisions
27:51
Speaker 1: to be made early because this has an impact on
27:54
Speaker 1: the roster, which they also have monetary obligations to look
27:58
Speaker 1: into as far as their contractual elements with the rest
28:01
Speaker 1: of the roster. So they want these conversations or really
28:05
Speaker 1: and they want decisions made before really we move into
28:08
Speaker 1: this offseason. Kurt, just what what goes into it from
28:11
Speaker 1: the standpoint of retirement at at a level like yours
28:14
Speaker 1: was well stays you know, I think Aaron hit on
28:18
Speaker 1: a number of those things. There's some practical things that
28:22
Speaker 1: you look at, Um, you know, what you've done in
28:24
Speaker 1: your career, what do you want to do, you know,
28:27
Speaker 1: moving forward? And then Aaron also mentioned this idea of feel,
28:32
Speaker 1: and I think that feel is very very important. You know,
28:35
Speaker 1: in two thousand and eight, I played in the Super Bowl,
28:38
Speaker 1: and you know, throughout the season I was thinking that
28:41
Speaker 1: this might be my last go round, and you know,
28:45
Speaker 1: got to the Super Bowl, Obviously we didn't win that game,
28:47
Speaker 1: but you know, I walked away thinking, you know that
28:49
Speaker 1: this might be it. That might have been the last
28:51
Speaker 1: game that I ever played. About two weeks after that,
28:54
Speaker 1: that feel came back where I said, I gotta get
28:57
Speaker 1: back out there. You know, Aaron alluded to that, like, man,
28:59
Speaker 1: I miss it. I want to go back out there
29:01
Speaker 1: and keep playing. Came back in OH nine. That feelings
29:05
Speaker 1: did to come back through the middle of the season.
29:07
Speaker 1: I got to the end of the season and I knew,
29:09
Speaker 1: without a doubt it was time to move on. And
29:11
Speaker 1: it wasn't because I couldn't play the game anymore. It
29:15
Speaker 1: was just it had taken a lot from me. I
29:17
Speaker 1: wasn't ready to go back to that grind. I wasn't
29:20
Speaker 1: ready to put myself through that again, and it was
29:23
Speaker 1: time for me to walk away. So I think there's
29:25
Speaker 1: a lot of steps that you go into. One thing
29:28
Speaker 1: you didn't mention and and Aaron didn't mention, is that
29:31
Speaker 1: I think he wants to go win a championship if
29:34
Speaker 1: he comes back and plays. So that is another factor
29:37
Speaker 1: in this thing. If he comes back to play for
29:39
Speaker 1: the Packers, does he believe that this team where they're
29:43
Speaker 1: at a year from now can compete for a championship.
29:46
Speaker 1: That to me is what is the only thing missing.
29:48
Speaker 1: As I've heard him contemplate over the last couple of years,
29:52
Speaker 1: he wants to win another championship. So if he comes back,
29:55
Speaker 1: will that be with Green Bay? Does he feel there's
29:57
Speaker 1: another place out there to do that? Or maybe he
30:00
Speaker 1: says to himself, I don't think there is a place
30:03
Speaker 1: that fits me, that has an opening for me to
30:05
Speaker 1: go play. Maybe that pushes him a little bit towards
30:09
Speaker 1: retirement instead of coming back. So there are a lot
30:12
Speaker 1: of factors here, and I agree with there and get
30:14
Speaker 1: away from this for a while, because what you're feeling
30:17
Speaker 1: in this moment may not be the exact same thing
30:19
Speaker 1: you're feeling two weeks from now when you get away
30:23
Speaker 1: from those raw emotions, you know, Mark from the front
30:25
Speaker 1: office perspective, like Stacy said, they kind of got to know,
30:29
Speaker 1: and like we had the conversation here with Trahan McVeigh
30:32
Speaker 1: and the Rams. They're gonna give him time, but eventually
30:36
Speaker 1: you're gonna have to make a decision organizationally, like what's
30:41
Speaker 1: this like, Well, obviously they've been having these conversations about
30:45
Speaker 1: Aaron and his future for years. That's why they traded
30:48
Speaker 1: up and drafted Jordan's love because they were trying to
30:51
Speaker 1: set their Packers up for the future. Here's our next
30:55
Speaker 1: great quarterback. But as we saw, they kind of tie
30:58
Speaker 1: themselves into plainting themselfs unto the box. They were giving
31:01
Speaker 1: Aaron that huge contract now with that Steve million that
31:05
Speaker 1: he's due guaranteed, so they really can't move on from
31:10
Speaker 1: him without owing him that money. And they're tied into
31:14
Speaker 1: saying if Aaron, whatever decision Aaron wants to make, it
31:18
Speaker 1: seems to have been the Aaron Rodgers Packers over the
31:20
Speaker 1: last couple of years, not the Green Bay Packers. And
31:23
Speaker 1: as an organization, you really want to put the team together. Yes,
31:26
Speaker 1: you acquiesced to certain great players, particularly your franchise quarterback,
31:31
Speaker 1: but now they seem to be okay in another off
31:35
Speaker 1: season or a week or two whatever it is, of
31:37
Speaker 1: what Aaron's decision is going to be, and that's that
31:40
Speaker 1: holds a team back. You want as much certainty as
31:42
Speaker 1: possible with your roster right now. So now, what do
31:45
Speaker 1: we do to build them better on the field. How
31:47
Speaker 1: do we manage this cat with the money that's due
31:50
Speaker 1: or not due? To Aaron, that's what you want to
31:52
Speaker 1: have as yours your off season plan with free agency,
31:55
Speaker 1: with the draft. The sooner Aaron can make that decision,
31:58
Speaker 1: the sooner the Packers can get planning. And if Aaron
32:00
Speaker 1: decides to say stay, then you got a plan for
32:03
Speaker 1: that as well. But the sooner the better for everybody
32:06
Speaker 1: in all parties involved. As he said last night, he
32:08
Speaker 1: thinks they're a couple of players away, but doesn't doesn't
32:11
Speaker 1: Stacy want to leave them hostage, to hold them hostage,
32:13
Speaker 1: go ahead, I just wanted to add what you just said.
32:17
Speaker 1: So we're good. Just to Kurt's point, he said last night,
32:20
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers, he believes there are a couple of players
32:22
Speaker 1: away from being a super Bowl champion type team. So
32:26
Speaker 1: that's important as they go through this thing. Because remember,
32:29
Speaker 1: and he also alluded to this, this is also important.
32:31
Speaker 1: He admitted last night that they did, in fact miss
32:35
Speaker 1: It's obvious Davante Adams this season he was irreplaceable for
32:39
Speaker 1: these guys. So if he decides to stay, who are
32:42
Speaker 1: are the Packers going to add personnel wise? With free
32:45
Speaker 1: agency up next in the draft, of course, to make
32:49
Speaker 1: this team that super Bowl type team, Aaron would need
32:51
Speaker 1: to stay. They made a play for Chase Claypool. Obviously
32:54
Speaker 1: he you know, went to the Bears. They tried Sammy Watkins.
32:57
Speaker 1: That didn't work. Let's see if they want Aaron Rodgers
33:00
Speaker 1: back to make it work, or rather if he wants
33:02
Speaker 1: to come back to make it work. Thank you, Wall.
33:03
Speaker 1: We await a decision. M h NFL Now is a
33:10
Speaker 1: production of the NFL in partnership with I Heart Radio.
33:13
Speaker 1: For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the i
33:16
Speaker 1: Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.