Latest / NFL Now / Demeco Ryans, 49ers - Eagles Matchup, & An Interview With Tony Richardson

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Demeco Ryans, 49ers - Eagles Matchup, & An Interview With Tony Richardson · NFL Now

0:05
Speaker 1: NFL Now is a production of the NFL in partnership
0:08
Speaker 1: with I Heart Radio. The countdown to Championships Sunday continues.
0:21
Speaker 1: We are now forty nine hours away from the forty
0:24
Speaker 1: Niners and Eagles kicking things off at the lane. Hello,
0:28
Speaker 1: a momorice and this is NFL Now. We are in
0:31
Speaker 1: the NFL Network news room. Still to come this hour,
0:34
Speaker 1: we have former Chiefs All Pro fullback Tony Richardson joining
0:38
Speaker 1: us for his thoughts on the a f C Championship
0:40
Speaker 1: game between the Chiefs and the Bengals. We will continue
0:43
Speaker 1: to break down the forty Niners and Eagles as well,
0:46
Speaker 1: but we start with some news in the coaching carousel.
0:50
Speaker 1: For more on that, we welcome in our NFL Network
0:51
Speaker 1: insiders Ian Rappaport and Tom Pella Sero. Ian might be
0:55
Speaker 1: a busy weekend here for Damiko Ryan's. Damiko Ryans has
1:01
Speaker 1: emerged as maybe the hottest coaching candidate and we are
1:04
Speaker 1: getting some clarity on his situation. Sources tell me and
1:08
Speaker 1: my colleague Tom Pelso right over there that Demiko Ryans
1:12
Speaker 1: has emerged as top candidate for the Houston Texans. His
1:16
Speaker 1: former team obviously, was a star linebacker there so many
1:20
Speaker 1: people thought when he was a player, and this guy's
1:22
Speaker 1: a head coach and he is close to being exactly that.
1:25
Speaker 1: From what we understand, Ryan is set to meet with
1:28
Speaker 1: the Texans at some point after this game if all
1:32
Speaker 1: goes well, and you know you would think that it would,
1:35
Speaker 1: but if all goes well, he could be their next
1:37
Speaker 1: head coach. And of course for Houston, it has been
1:40
Speaker 1: a little bit of an odyssey the last couple of
1:41
Speaker 1: years as they're rebuilding on the fly a couple of
1:44
Speaker 1: different coaches. This is one of the as I mentioned,
1:47
Speaker 1: hottest young coaches, bright young coaches, just thirty eight years old,
1:51
Speaker 1: extremely close to being an NFL head coach. Damiko Ryan's
1:57
Speaker 1: has family ties still in the Houston area as well.
2:00
Speaker 1: Of course, as he had mentioned, he played for that organization,
2:03
Speaker 1: and despite the fact that they had two consecutive one
2:06
Speaker 1: and done head coaches, this is a really attractive job
2:09
Speaker 1: to a lot of people around the NFL because you
2:11
Speaker 1: have resources, you still have additional high picks from the
2:14
Speaker 1: Deshaun Watson trade, You've got cap room, you've got a
2:17
Speaker 1: lot of room to grow with the organization, and the
2:20
Speaker 1: ammunition to go and get yourself a franchise quarterback. All
2:24
Speaker 1: of that has Damiko Ryan's certainly it sounds like strongly
2:27
Speaker 1: considering ending up back where he played at the start
2:30
Speaker 1: of his playing career with the Houston Texans and at
2:33
Speaker 1: a time where there are other teams pursuing him. He
2:36
Speaker 1: is also a top target for the Denver Broncos. They
2:39
Speaker 1: have gone through several of them. Of course, they attempted
2:42
Speaker 1: to get Jim Harbaugh to come from the University of Michigan.
2:44
Speaker 1: They have met with Sean Payton among other candidates here.
2:48
Speaker 1: Dan Quinn was another guy who was on their radar.
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Speaker 1: He informed teams yesterday that he has not taken a
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Speaker 1: head coaching job in this cycle and is returning to Dallas.
2:56
Speaker 1: Damiko Ryan's has really been the focus for the last
2:58
Speaker 1: couple of days here for Denver, but as of now
3:01
Speaker 1: the Texans of the team that as Ian said omar
3:03
Speaker 1: have emerged here with him as a top candidate, Kyle
3:07
Speaker 1: Shanahan saying this week. When he was on the staff
3:09
Speaker 1: there in two thousand and six, when Damiko Ryan's was
3:11
Speaker 1: drafted to the Texas, his leadership was obvious. As a
3:14
Speaker 1: twenty one year old rookie taking over that linebacker's room.
3:18
Speaker 1: So interesting to see how that will unfold the rest
3:20
Speaker 1: of this week. And as for a cross state Tom
3:23
Speaker 1: dan Quinn Kellen Moore, you have some clarity on their futures.
3:26
Speaker 1: What more can you tell us about that. We certainly
3:31
Speaker 1: have clarity on the future of dan Quinn, who informed
3:33
Speaker 1: interested teams yesterday that he will not be taking a
3:36
Speaker 1: head coaching job in this cycle. That it includes the Broncos.
3:40
Speaker 1: As I mentioned, he interviewed with them. He was a
3:42
Speaker 1: top target with the Arizona Cardinals quite possibly would have
3:45
Speaker 1: been Arizona's next head coach. Also had a second interview
3:49
Speaker 1: lined up with the Indianapolis Colts. However, my understanding is
3:53
Speaker 1: his heart's in Dallas. He just decided he was not
3:55
Speaker 1: comfortable with the options that were in front of him here.
3:57
Speaker 1: Felt like he wanted to go back and try to
3:59
Speaker 1: help deliver Jerry Jones and company a Super Bowl. As
4:02
Speaker 1: for Kellen Moore, he also ended up not getting a
4:05
Speaker 1: head coaching job, even though he made a strong push.
4:07
Speaker 1: Had a really good interview with the Panthers earlier this week,
4:10
Speaker 1: gave them a lot to think about. They ultimately stuck
4:12
Speaker 1: with their choice of Frank Reich. As their new head coach.
4:15
Speaker 1: But Mike McCarthy, the Cowboys head coach, was noncommittal on
4:19
Speaker 1: Kellen Moore when he spoke to reporters yesterday, saying that Kellen,
4:22
Speaker 1: like all of our coaches, are being evaluated instantly. Kellen
4:26
Speaker 1: Moore would become the top offensive coordinator target on the market.
4:30
Speaker 1: There's a lot of jobs available. He would not be
4:32
Speaker 1: out of work for long. But those conversations, according to McCarthy,
4:35
Speaker 1: going to take place here over the next day or two.
4:37
Speaker 1: So still a situation to keep an eye on in
4:40
Speaker 1: Dallas somewhere. Kellen Moore's Cowboys offense has been certainly explosive
4:45
Speaker 1: at times over the years. As for the Rams and
4:47
Speaker 1: their offensive coordinator search, they landed on their guide in
4:50
Speaker 1: who is it their top guy really all along? It
4:55
Speaker 1: is Michael Floor, the former Jets offensive coordina. Remember he
4:59
Speaker 1: left the Jets a couple of weeks ago. It seems
5:01
Speaker 1: like a million years ago, but anyway, a couple of
5:02
Speaker 1: weeks ago to pursue other offered tunities, and once she
5:06
Speaker 1: did a little bit of dig and made a couple
5:08
Speaker 1: of phone calls. If a game clear what those opportunities were,
5:11
Speaker 1: it was to work with Sean McVeigh be his right
5:14
Speaker 1: hand man, kind of the brains behind that offense now,
5:17
Speaker 1: and that is obviously a big void to fill for
5:19
Speaker 1: the Los Angeles Rams lost William Cohen, their offensive coordinator
5:23
Speaker 1: this past year. Now they slot in Michael for just
5:27
Speaker 1: the second leave four, of course, to work with Sean McVeigh,
5:30
Speaker 1: with his brother Matt being there a couple of years ago. Yeah,
5:32
Speaker 1: of course, one of the more recent offensive coordinators, Kevin
5:35
Speaker 1: O'Connell now ahead coach there with Minnesota the floor successful. Oh,
5:42
Speaker 1: there we go again, Tom with the l guide their Tommy,
5:47
Speaker 1: and thank you both very much. Meanwhile in Kansas City,
5:51
Speaker 1: all eyes on Patrick Mahomes. This video coming in within
5:55
Speaker 1: the hour or so. Chiefs practicing outdoors as they get
5:58
Speaker 1: ready for their a f C Championship Games showdown with
6:01
Speaker 1: the Cincinnati Bengals. Patrick Mahomes has been a full participant
6:05
Speaker 1: practice all week long, full expectations he'll be good to
6:08
Speaker 1: go on Sunday. Here's Andy Reid just moments ago addressing
6:12
Speaker 1: Patrick Mahomes and that ankle. What's your comfort level that
6:21
Speaker 1: he will be a fool goat? Yeah now he looks good? Yes, Yes,
6:29
Speaker 1: what's your comfort level with his mobility after three days. Yeah,
6:33
Speaker 1: it looks it looks good. I mean he's moving around good.
6:37
Speaker 1: I think he uh, you know, you go out and play.
6:41
Speaker 1: Because you're sitting on fifty two players on the active roster.
6:44
Speaker 1: Vooty Forts is still a candidate that we called up
6:46
Speaker 1: from the game potentially, Yeah, he is. I'm just gonna
6:51
Speaker 1: see how everything goes, Sarah. You know, having numbers there,
6:57
Speaker 1: you know, you don't have an answer probably on whether
6:58
Speaker 1: the cool player or not. But have he is he
7:01
Speaker 1: progressed this week? Yeah? Now he's listen, he's worked this
7:03
Speaker 1: tale off. He feel better than what he what he
7:06
Speaker 1: was definitely last week. Yeah, so we'll see see how
7:09
Speaker 1: he does that. He's practicing because it was earlier in
7:12
Speaker 1: the year. But after the evening game you mentioned any
7:14
Speaker 1: challenge the offensive lin at more. That's something that you've
7:17
Speaker 1: just been going into the game, and I feel like
7:20
Speaker 1: they're they're focused too. They understand what where we're at
7:24
Speaker 1: and what's going on. So yeah, good, all right, nice
7:32
Speaker 1: meeting with you guys from three. Hey, the time's yours
7:39
Speaker 1: and it wasn't that much time today. Junie Batista, Mark
7:42
Speaker 1: Ross back with us now as Andy Reid said, like
7:45
Speaker 1: he's been seeing all week long, Patrick Mahomes will be
7:47
Speaker 1: good to go on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, and
7:50
Speaker 1: Judy when you look at Mahomes in the prospect of
7:53
Speaker 1: probably not being with that angle, how might that affect
7:56
Speaker 1: the Chief's offense. Well, we'll see. I mean, what we've
8:00
Speaker 1: seen of him is walking around and maybe like jogging
8:03
Speaker 1: during practice. But the real question is can he put
8:07
Speaker 1: his foot down on the ground and run if he
8:09
Speaker 1: has to do. That is such a big part of
8:11
Speaker 1: his game. When you look at next Gen stats, he
8:13
Speaker 1: leads the leaguers at the top of the league in
8:16
Speaker 1: extending plays and making plays on the run and passing
8:19
Speaker 1: yards and touchdowns on the move. That is such a
8:23
Speaker 1: big part of mahomes magic. He's obviously also brilliant when
8:26
Speaker 1: he's in the pocket. It's not like he can't perform
8:28
Speaker 1: in the pocket, but it's that extra something that he
8:31
Speaker 1: can create when a play breaks down and he is
8:34
Speaker 1: on the move that makes him virtually unstoppable. We'll see. Certainly,
8:38
Speaker 1: you would expect that the Bengals are going to want
8:40
Speaker 1: to test him very quickly to see if he can
8:42
Speaker 1: hold up. But let's be honest, Andy Reid has had
8:45
Speaker 1: a week to game plan for what you have to do.
8:48
Speaker 1: If you have to keep Patrick Mahomes in the pocket,
8:51
Speaker 1: if that is where he is most comfortable, and if
8:53
Speaker 1: his mobility is really compromised, we'll see how he looks.
8:58
Speaker 1: I certainly think they will be prepared if he has
9:00
Speaker 1: to stay in the pocket, and then you're gonna have
9:02
Speaker 1: to see if he is willing to protect himself or
9:05
Speaker 1: if he is going to follow his instinct and go
9:07
Speaker 1: out and create the plays that we are all used
9:09
Speaker 1: to seeing. Yeah, early in the week, and you read
9:11
Speaker 1: reiterating that in twenty nineteen, that ankle injury that Mahomes
9:15
Speaker 1: had was much more significant than this one, and if
9:17
Speaker 1: you look at the numbers after that game, he lit
9:19
Speaker 1: it up and he was less experienced at that time.
9:22
Speaker 1: Here now in the playoffs, Mark, you have to figure
9:24
Speaker 1: to lou Ana Rumo and that Bengals defense certainly studying
9:28
Speaker 1: Mahomes and every different factor of that ankle injury. How
9:31
Speaker 1: do you think it affects their game plan? I don't
9:33
Speaker 1: think it affects it at all. Or because they've already
9:36
Speaker 1: beat the Chiefs three times in a row with under
9:39
Speaker 1: the Joe Burrow Air just this year. So the Bengals
9:43
Speaker 1: D has to be looking at it. Whatever version of
9:45
Speaker 1: Patrick Mahomes we get, we feel confident we can stop
9:48
Speaker 1: either one of those guys because they've already done it.
9:50
Speaker 1: There's no guess work if this was another team, if
9:53
Speaker 1: they could do it, if Patrick has hurt or Patrick
9:55
Speaker 1: is healthy, because in that game earlier shut them out
9:58
Speaker 1: in the fourth quarter, only had two thirty three yards
10:01
Speaker 1: passing gut Kelsey down. Kelsey only had four receptions for
10:05
Speaker 1: with these six yards, So that Cincinnati D has to
10:07
Speaker 1: be feeling really good that even at they know that
10:12
Speaker 1: they can slow down Patrick Mahomes. Well, now you have
10:14
Speaker 1: a compromise Patrick Mahomes. And as Judy stated, a look
10:18
Speaker 1: at pocket passer. Patrick Mahomes is still a top five
10:20
Speaker 1: quarterback in the NFL of all time whatever, but the
10:24
Speaker 1: special Patrick Mahomes makes him the greatest of all time
10:27
Speaker 1: at what he does. And if he can't have that element,
10:30
Speaker 1: that severely benefits the Bengals D. But either way, they
10:34
Speaker 1: know we can go stop this guy and they have
10:36
Speaker 1: that confidence. Omar, this has the potential to be one
10:38
Speaker 1: of the great rivalries, perhaps the greatest rivalry of this generation,
10:42
Speaker 1: but the Chiefs have to win one. Usually rivalries can't
10:44
Speaker 1: be as one sided as they are so far in
10:47
Speaker 1: this Burrow Mahomes matchup, So Patrick Mahomes again will get
10:51
Speaker 1: his shot on Sunday, Judy, Mark, thank you both very much. Mark,
10:55
Speaker 1: You're gonna like this one. The Bengals trying to become
10:58
Speaker 1: the first team since your two thousand seven Giants to
11:00
Speaker 1: start the season oh and two and then go on
11:03
Speaker 1: to win the Super Bowl. The two thousand one Patriots
11:06
Speaker 1: also did it with Tom Brady and the nineties Patriots
11:10
Speaker 1: with the true Bledsoe and Bill Parcels and crew got
11:13
Speaker 1: to the Super Bowl but lost. And then the ninety
11:14
Speaker 1: three Cowboys I think that was affective, maybe by an
11:16
Speaker 1: Emmett Smith hold out. They started owing two, but then
11:20
Speaker 1: once Emmett Smith got back there, they went on to
11:22
Speaker 1: win their back to back Super Bowls. For much more perspective,
11:26
Speaker 1: here Greg Rosenthal one of my favorite guys here at
11:28
Speaker 1: NFL Network. And Greg, we've been talking about the Bengals,
11:31
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow and those weapons on the outside all season long.
11:34
Speaker 1: But how do you figure the Bengals rushing attack will
11:37
Speaker 1: get into this way? I think it's everything because you
11:39
Speaker 1: look at the Chiefs defense and the Bengals defense for
11:41
Speaker 1: that matter, and what do they do. They just dare
11:43
Speaker 1: you to run. They're like, oh, you want to run
11:44
Speaker 1: the ball, cool, we will let you do that. And
11:47
Speaker 1: that's how the Bengals beat the Chiefs last time. That
11:49
Speaker 1: was the somaj p Ryan game. He had almost a
11:52
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty yards from scrimmage. And I think the
11:56
Speaker 1: Bengals offensive line showed last week with some new guys
12:01
Speaker 1: up front, whoa, you can run block when you're not
12:05
Speaker 1: quite as talented because it's more about cohesion and attitude
12:09
Speaker 1: and they can do that. And this Chief's defense since
12:12
Speaker 1: since the Spagnolo has been there, has said, Okay, you
12:14
Speaker 1: want to run, go for it. I also think Joe
12:17
Speaker 1: Burrow breaks out the design runs in big games. You
12:22
Speaker 1: saw a week ago he ran the ball more then
12:24
Speaker 1: you look back at that first game against the Chiefs
12:27
Speaker 1: week thirteen, had a few key design runs. So Joe
12:30
Speaker 1: Burrow you don't think of as a scrambler or as
12:33
Speaker 1: a design runner, but he is when it matters. He
12:36
Speaker 1: just like I'm not gonna bother in those regular season games,
12:39
Speaker 1: but in the playoffs, they're gonna run the ball, and
12:41
Speaker 1: he showed that he can throw off the run, those
12:43
Speaker 1: one legged stepping up in the pocket, finding a way
12:45
Speaker 1: to deliver the ball even under the most dressed situations.
12:49
Speaker 1: And when you think about what Patrick Mahomes has shown
12:51
Speaker 1: throughout his career, what did you see from him last
12:54
Speaker 1: week when he came back in the second half and
12:56
Speaker 1: still delivered a solid performance that tells you he'll be
12:59
Speaker 1: okay on Sunday. I mean his numbers went up. I
13:01
Speaker 1: don't know if anyone noticed that, Like the yards per
13:02
Speaker 1: attempt in the second half of that game went up.
13:04
Speaker 1: And I think of Patrick Mahomes as an artist. I
13:07
Speaker 1: think of Andy Reid as an artist. Like what they
13:09
Speaker 1: create like you can't describe it. It's a beautiful thing.
13:13
Speaker 1: And sometimes artists create their best work with limitations. I'm
13:18
Speaker 1: talking about outside of football, whether it's books, it's music,
13:20
Speaker 1: it's it's actual art. Like you put a set of
13:23
Speaker 1: limitations on them and they have to work inside that
13:26
Speaker 1: box and they end up making their best stuff. Because
13:28
Speaker 1: now Andy Reid has to focus on how can we
13:30
Speaker 1: win from the pocket. We know Patrick Mahomes can do that.
13:33
Speaker 1: We know this offensive line is not a ragtag group.
13:36
Speaker 1: They're highly paid all pros who have the third best
13:39
Speaker 1: rushing attack according to Football Outsider since week thirteen. I'm
13:43
Speaker 1: not worried about Patrick Mohomes. I'm not worried about the
13:46
Speaker 1: offenses in this game. I'm worried about the defenses. They're
13:49
Speaker 1: the ones that are going to have to match up
13:51
Speaker 1: and whether Mahomes can move that well or not. They're
13:53
Speaker 1: gonna score. Yeah, Like we've been talking about twenty nineteen season,
13:56
Speaker 1: the game after hurting that ankle more than four hundred yards,
13:59
Speaker 1: blowing away the Raiders on that infielled surf. We saw
14:03
Speaker 1: some of those images, remember those old infield baseball turfs there,
14:06
Speaker 1: and it's like, Yeah, they couldn't wait to move to
14:08
Speaker 1: Vegas after that. Red Rosenthal Fresh Perspective will get his
14:13
Speaker 1: thoughts on who's gonna win that game, as well as
14:15
Speaker 1: his breakdown on the Eagles and forty Niners coming up
14:18
Speaker 1: in just a little bit. Thank you, Greg, still to
14:20
Speaker 1: come here on NFL now. Speaking of the Niners and
14:23
Speaker 1: the Eagles, Brock Purty, George Kittle, j Lynn Hurts, they've
14:27
Speaker 1: been providing highlight plays all year long. We'll break that
14:31
Speaker 1: one down next, right, here n This is one of
14:39
Speaker 1: those Clash of the Titans matchup between the Eagles and
14:42
Speaker 1: forty Niners for the NFC Championship Game on Sunday, first
14:45
Speaker 1: time since the nineteen seventy five playoffs where he had
14:48
Speaker 1: two teams at ranked both in the top five offensively
14:51
Speaker 1: and defensively square off one another. That seventy five Cowboys
14:54
Speaker 1: beat the seventy Vikings in that matchup. George Kittle, he
14:58
Speaker 1: knows what's at stake. So you drop you dreamt about
15:02
Speaker 1: since you're a kid. Do you dream about it when
15:04
Speaker 1: you're in high school? College? You dream about when you're
15:06
Speaker 1: in the NFL. You know, you dream about situations like
15:08
Speaker 1: this and whether it's a hunger of starvation, desperation, you
15:13
Speaker 1: do everything you can to make sure at the end
15:14
Speaker 1: of the game that you're gonna win. You're gonna win
15:16
Speaker 1: it um. And I think you know, our team to
15:18
Speaker 1: a good job yesterday. We're very mindful about every single
15:19
Speaker 1: rep there we took. I know we were. I think
15:21
Speaker 1: we're a walkthrough pace, but like guys are still flying
15:23
Speaker 1: around getting great working today is a full speed practice.
15:26
Speaker 1: I know guys are gonna get after it today. And
15:27
Speaker 1: I think we have a team that understands the situation
15:29
Speaker 1: we're in. We have a lot of guys on this
15:31
Speaker 1: team that have played in the playoffs before and understand,
15:33
Speaker 1: you know, what it is, and what it means, and
15:35
Speaker 1: how what every single rep means. So we're gonna be
15:38
Speaker 1: very um mindful of those uh each and every single
15:40
Speaker 1: rep throughout this entire weekend. On Sunday, George, get certainly
15:44
Speaker 1: fired up there, Mike Garofolo, Jim Trotter, They'll be fired
15:47
Speaker 1: up on Sunday there at the Lincoln. Mike will start
15:50
Speaker 1: with you. Jalen Hurts as the starter this year for
15:52
Speaker 1: the Eagles and games which he's played fifteen and one,
15:55
Speaker 1: how much are they counting on him on Championship Sunday?
16:00
Speaker 1: Counting on him a lot, that's for sure. And Nick
16:02
Speaker 1: Sirianni did say that by the way, that Hurts is
16:04
Speaker 1: still get a little bit of treatment on the shoulder,
16:06
Speaker 1: but not affected by it. And we saw last week
16:09
Speaker 1: against the Giants not affected by it. And I think
16:10
Speaker 1: the Eagles sent a message early on to the Giants
16:13
Speaker 1: defense and also showed their confidence and Hurts himself with
16:17
Speaker 1: that big play on what the second play from scrimmage
16:19
Speaker 1: to Davante Smith down the field, and that was against
16:23
Speaker 1: a Giants defense that they ran the ball well against.
16:26
Speaker 1: They're not gonna be able to run the ball in
16:28
Speaker 1: the two hundred plus yard region this week against the
16:31
Speaker 1: forty Niners. That run defense is just too tough. They
16:34
Speaker 1: need to be effective in the running game. But I
16:36
Speaker 1: don't think you can go into a game expecting to
16:38
Speaker 1: be explosive there. So your explosive plays have to be
16:41
Speaker 1: some of the ones that you're seeing on your screen now.
16:43
Speaker 1: Jalen Hurts throwing the ball down the field. If A J.
16:46
Speaker 1: Brown wasn't happy about his production last week, this could
16:49
Speaker 1: be the game for him. This is why you pay
16:51
Speaker 1: a J. Brown all that money and you trade for
16:54
Speaker 1: him and you bring him in for a game like this.
16:56
Speaker 1: And this forty Niners defense has given up some explosive
16:59
Speaker 1: past plays uh throughout the season. So let's see if
17:03
Speaker 1: Jalen Hurts can beat his team in the forty Niners
17:06
Speaker 1: and their defense from the pocket. He's been proving the
17:09
Speaker 1: defenses all year long that he can. No bigger stage
17:13
Speaker 1: than this Sunday, no question, strength on strength there with
17:15
Speaker 1: the Eagles running game versus the Niners. Number two ranked
17:18
Speaker 1: defense and the forty Niners run of success. Now here,
17:20
Speaker 1: Jim three NFC championship games in four years has created
17:24
Speaker 1: some Champagne problems or as I like to say, Napa
17:27
Speaker 1: Valley problems there in northern California in terms of their
17:30
Speaker 1: coaching staff. What more can you tell us about that? Yeah,
17:33
Speaker 1: no question, Almar. As you say, three NFC finals in
17:36
Speaker 1: four years, and what that does. It means that other
17:39
Speaker 1: clubs are taking notice and they like to poach your staff,
17:42
Speaker 1: get assistance off of that staff. And Kyle Shanahan is
17:45
Speaker 1: acutely aware of this. In fact, he builds his staff
17:48
Speaker 1: with that in mind that he wants to promote from
17:51
Speaker 1: within when his guy is leading. Look right now, there
17:53
Speaker 1: are only four assistants remaining from his original staff in
17:57
Speaker 1: two thousand seventeen. So when we look at it offensively,
18:00
Speaker 1: for instance, with the passing game coordinator, you go from
18:03
Speaker 1: Michael Floor to Mike mcne annual can now Bobby Slowick,
18:06
Speaker 1: and the defensively at the coordinator position from Robert Solitud
18:09
Speaker 1: Mico Ryans. But here's the problem for Sanahan right now,
18:13
Speaker 1: some of his coaches are being post quicker than he
18:16
Speaker 1: thought they would, and so if dmco Ryan's leaves, it
18:19
Speaker 1: raises the question of whether or not he has a
18:21
Speaker 1: guy on staff who has seasons enough to step in.
18:25
Speaker 1: And what I'm hearing Omar that they may have to
18:28
Speaker 1: go outside the building this time if Demko leaves to
18:30
Speaker 1: find a defensive coordinator to replace them, simply because of
18:34
Speaker 1: the guys on staff simply don't have that experience yet
18:37
Speaker 1: to step in and fill that role. I'm sure that
18:40
Speaker 1: would be a problem they would love to have. Is
18:41
Speaker 1: that's something that they're not solving until after Super Bowl
18:44
Speaker 1: fifty seven there in Arizona. Jim Mike, thank you both
18:47
Speaker 1: very much. And speaking of Kyle shanahan sterling record in
18:51
Speaker 1: the postseason six and two, eight games so far, that's
18:54
Speaker 1: what happens when you get to the NFC Championship games
18:56
Speaker 1: three times in forty years. And Nick Sirianni started last
18:59
Speaker 1: year with a loss there against Tampa Bay, but resounding
19:03
Speaker 1: victory against the Giants made his record one and one.
19:07
Speaker 1: For more perspective on this game, we welcome back Greg Rosenthal,
19:10
Speaker 1: and you look at those two young coaches. You've seen
19:13
Speaker 1: fiery reactions emotions from both of them over the years,
19:18
Speaker 1: being mugging from nixt Marianni last week, and that was
19:21
Speaker 1: I love that. That's the one we're gonna be seeing
19:23
Speaker 1: forever and ever, who do you think has the edge
19:25
Speaker 1: on Sunday? So it's been a great year for the Dorks.
19:28
Speaker 1: I feel like that hasn't really come up that much.
19:30
Speaker 1: But the Eagles are kind of a dorky team. They
19:33
Speaker 1: are into the analytics. You know, people love to honk
19:36
Speaker 1: when Brandon Stanley's fourth down decisions don't go well, but
19:39
Speaker 1: people awfully quiet about all the fourth down decisions that
19:42
Speaker 1: have helped Sirianni in the Eagles get to this point.
19:45
Speaker 1: And when I look at these two coaches, I look
19:47
Speaker 1: at a more aggressive Eagles coaching staff when it comes
19:50
Speaker 1: to fourth down decisions. I see Kyle Shannon kicking those
19:53
Speaker 1: field goals on fourth and two, doing the defense of favor,
19:57
Speaker 1: being very conservative, and Syrianni don't care, and I think
20:00
Speaker 1: that's bled over into his team. You look at the
20:02
Speaker 1: short yardage numbers. They've changed the way the game is
20:05
Speaker 1: played in terms of their quarterback sneaks in short yardage situations.
20:09
Speaker 1: One of the best of all time to do that.
20:10
Speaker 1: Forty nine is not very good in short yard situations.
20:13
Speaker 1: Then you think about their red zone numbers excellent. That's
20:16
Speaker 1: where attention to detail really matters both sides of all.
20:19
Speaker 1: Really good forty niner is just so so in terms
20:22
Speaker 1: of the red zone. And then every Kyle Shanahan game
20:25
Speaker 1: in the first half or in the second half, you
20:27
Speaker 1: can just count on a time out coming out of nowhere,
20:30
Speaker 1: like a wasted time out. You don't see that from
20:33
Speaker 1: the Eagle. So I look at these two teams, the
20:34
Speaker 1: two most talented teams I believe in the NFL, and
20:38
Speaker 1: you think about that attention to detail and those small
20:41
Speaker 1: margins and what the dorks are getting it done this
20:44
Speaker 1: year in Philadelphia, and I think the Eagles have an edge.
20:47
Speaker 1: I'm sure, I like pretty dorky doing like this, but
20:48
Speaker 1: it reminds me of Merton Hanks. Remember the old forty
20:50
Speaker 1: nine safety when he put into the ends do this,
20:53
Speaker 1: Sirianni doing very similar work. But that Eagles defense, Fletcher Cox,
20:57
Speaker 1: Brandon Graham, they've been doing it for years. That secondary
21:00
Speaker 1: now they've been impressive, and all the interceptions they've had,
21:03
Speaker 1: what do you see from them matches up so well
21:05
Speaker 1: against the Ford Well, I think back to and I
21:08
Speaker 1: was at all those Eagles playoff games, and I think
21:10
Speaker 1: of how Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox were the key
21:12
Speaker 1: to that defense, and then you look forward and you
21:15
Speaker 1: see why this defense is so good, and it's because
21:18
Speaker 1: Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox aren't the keys to the defense.
21:21
Speaker 1: Now they are able to play fifteen snaps and they
21:25
Speaker 1: are incredibly productive. Graham got over ten secs this year
21:29
Speaker 1: and he's a part time player, and I think that's
21:31
Speaker 1: a big defense difference. Rather between the Eagles defense and
21:35
Speaker 1: the forty so I think are a little thinner up front.
21:37
Speaker 1: It's Armstead Bosa and you just hope for production, whereas
21:41
Speaker 1: the Eagles have these veterans who are deep in their
21:44
Speaker 1: defensive line who are getting it done. You have Josh Wet,
21:47
Speaker 1: you have Reddick, you have so many players up front,
21:50
Speaker 1: hard Grave and I don't think the forty niners are
21:53
Speaker 1: quite as deep. So it's awesome that the Eagles have
21:55
Speaker 1: found a way to keep these veterans around. It's a
21:57
Speaker 1: connection to that championship team. But it's even better they
22:00
Speaker 1: don't need them for forty fifty snaps. Shows how deep
22:03
Speaker 1: they're And you remember who took Cock some Graham under
22:06
Speaker 1: his shoulder early in their career. Damiko Ryan's defensive coordinator. Okay,
22:11
Speaker 1: you're known for your NFL Picks column. I have been
22:14
Speaker 1: on a heater this postseason. I'm going Bengals and Eagles.
22:18
Speaker 1: I feel better about the Eagles one. How can you
22:20
Speaker 1: pick against Patrick Mahomes but I am doing that? Wow?
22:24
Speaker 1: And how did you pick them last year? What was
22:26
Speaker 1: your Bengals Chiefs prediction last year? I got the Bengals one, right,
22:29
Speaker 1: you know, I was, well, that was an emotional thing
22:31
Speaker 1: the Wesleyan family that we're destinated here and I'm sticking
22:34
Speaker 1: with them again. Now they get it done and perhaps, uh,
22:37
Speaker 1: I think a lot of America would like to see
22:39
Speaker 1: either that Kelsey Bowl or in other words, the Andy
22:42
Speaker 1: Reid Bowl. If it was the Eagles and the Chiefs meeting,
22:46
Speaker 1: that would be something else. Greg Rosenthal NFL dot com
22:50
Speaker 1: slash game picks for his column each and every week.
22:53
Speaker 1: Thank you very much for still to come here. The
22:56
Speaker 1: final round of the NFL Playoffs takes place this weekend
22:59
Speaker 1: on Championships Sunday. Four teams remain, but only two will
23:03
Speaker 1: make it to Arizona and Super Bowl fifty seventy NFC
23:07
Speaker 1: and a f C Championship Games presented by Intoit Turbo
23:10
Speaker 1: Tax Sunday, January twenty nine. Visit NFL dot com slash
23:14
Speaker 1: schedule for the full schedule still to come here. Tony Richardson,
23:19
Speaker 1: from a Pro Bowl fullback for the Kansas City Chiefs,
23:23
Speaker 1: will get his perspective on the Chiefs run and what
23:26
Speaker 1: he's looking forward to in this a f C championship
23:29
Speaker 1: showdown that's next on NFL. Now. Win win, win win,
23:34
Speaker 1: everything goes win, win, win win. Tony Richardson, three time
23:43
Speaker 1: pro bowler and member of the Chiefs haull of honor,
23:47
Speaker 1: also played for the Vikings and the Jets. What a
23:51
Speaker 1: stud bowling people over paving the way for the likes
23:55
Speaker 1: of La Dainian Tomlinson and Priest Holmes and Adrian Peterson
23:59
Speaker 1: and Marcus Allen. We are thrilled to welcome in now
24:02
Speaker 1: Tony Richardson to NFL. Now, Tony, how you doing man?
24:06
Speaker 1: You know what I'm doing? Great? It's uh, it's a
24:08
Speaker 1: beautiful day Friday in New York City and I'm so
24:11
Speaker 1: happy to be uh to be on the show today. Well,
24:12
Speaker 1: I'm sure you'll be watching very closely the Chiefs and
24:16
Speaker 1: the Bengals on Sunday. How much concern do you have
24:19
Speaker 1: about Patrick Mahomes ankle? You know what I think, Uh,
24:22
Speaker 1: A seventy eight percent Patrick Holmes is probably better than
24:26
Speaker 1: a hund percent of most quarterbacks if I'm not too
24:28
Speaker 1: necessarily concerned. But I'm definitely concerned about the Bengals. That
24:32
Speaker 1: team is I don't know, they's just they caught fire.
24:35
Speaker 1: So I'm not really necessarily concerned about the ankle, but
24:37
Speaker 1: I'm definitely concerned about the the overall team of the
24:40
Speaker 1: Cincinnati Bengals. What's the biggest matchup issue you think that
24:43
Speaker 1: the Chiefs have against that Bengals team. You know, it's
24:46
Speaker 1: I mean, it's it's interesting because obviously, you know, Eric
24:49
Speaker 1: Banimy was my running back coach when I was in
24:51
Speaker 1: the Minnesota Vikings, and some of the things that are
24:53
Speaker 1: able to do from a schematics team is pretty much
24:57
Speaker 1: incredible to ring around the rosy and all this kind
24:59
Speaker 1: of thing. But I mean, I really believe I think
25:02
Speaker 1: their offensive matches up really well against the Can's the
25:05
Speaker 1: chief defense. I almost said ours I am a homer,
25:07
Speaker 1: but yeah, you know, I think it's gonna be a
25:09
Speaker 1: good game. But it's definitely gonna be a It's gonna
25:11
Speaker 1: be a tough task. Um. I think the Chiefs are
25:13
Speaker 1: gonna be pretty upset because I guess they're calling it burrowhead.
25:17
Speaker 1: I don't like that recommend a ring of honor, So
25:20
Speaker 1: I don't like that trash stock, but it should be
25:22
Speaker 1: a good bancham. Yeah, there's been a lot of trash
25:24
Speaker 1: stock here. How do you what do you make of
25:26
Speaker 1: this potential budding rivalry? Yeah, you know what everyone always says, like,
25:30
Speaker 1: oh boats and more material. I don't think I've ever
25:33
Speaker 1: seen anything that someone said or someone posted that made
25:36
Speaker 1: me go out and play harder. Um, but I think
25:38
Speaker 1: it's great. I mean, unfortunately the Chiefs I almost said
25:41
Speaker 1: we again. The Chiefs have lost three games or you know,
25:44
Speaker 1: to the to the Bengals, so I don't really believe
25:46
Speaker 1: in that. Um, it's gonna you know, Eli Apple was
25:48
Speaker 1: a kind of a rock star. Uh, I guess Twitter
25:51
Speaker 1: master right now. But you know what the thing about it,
25:54
Speaker 1: when you blow the whistle, you gotta go out and
25:55
Speaker 1: play the game. And and man, the best man win
25:58
Speaker 1: certainly did his best to troll everybody in the week
26:01
Speaker 1: that Eli Apple, you're in the Hall of Honor. You
26:03
Speaker 1: can say we there. Uh, speaking of that running game,
26:06
Speaker 1: you mentioned Eric b Enemy and his impressions with you
26:10
Speaker 1: there in two thousand six, earlier in your career again
26:13
Speaker 1: when you were with the Vikings. What have you seen
26:15
Speaker 1: from him over the years that you think might make
26:17
Speaker 1: him a head coach? Certainly been a candidate for years
26:19
Speaker 1: and years now. Yeah, you know what they thinking about it.
26:21
Speaker 1: I'm I'm really blown away about what's taking so long, because,
26:26
Speaker 1: you know, beingemy really pushed us to the hardest point. Um.
26:29
Speaker 1: We me and Adrian Peterson, Like one time, I think
26:32
Speaker 1: we went out in Rushtaurant almost close to three hundred
26:34
Speaker 1: four hundred yards and we're like feeling great, everything's good.
26:36
Speaker 1: We're getting on Wednesday, eb rips us from head to
26:39
Speaker 1: toe and I'm like, what's just happened? So he holds, uh,
26:42
Speaker 1: you know, attention to detail. Obviously a former player. I
26:45
Speaker 1: think he was number two for the Heisman and he
26:47
Speaker 1: came out of Colorado. The time is he's do I'm
26:50
Speaker 1: not sure what's going on, but he's definitely a coach.
26:53
Speaker 1: I think that deserves to be a head coach and
26:55
Speaker 1: he's doing a tremendous job. And they're saying, well, he's
26:57
Speaker 1: not calling plays and things like that, but you can
26:59
Speaker 1: always see whenever Patrick Mahomes come off to the sideline,
27:02
Speaker 1: he goes to being and he talks to the enemy,
27:04
Speaker 1: and I think, be you know, hopefully this is his term.
27:07
Speaker 1: But let's take care of things first. Let's get to
27:10
Speaker 1: our Arizona and we'll start doing with all that afterwards.
27:12
Speaker 1: Certainly paid his dues. I mentioned before the great running
27:15
Speaker 1: backs that you paved the way force, and you've seen
27:17
Speaker 1: up close and personal what a great back looks like.
27:20
Speaker 1: What do you make of Isaiah Pacheco here coming along
27:22
Speaker 1: in his rookie year. You know, it's crazy. It's just like,
27:25
Speaker 1: I don't know the secret sauce of how they keep
27:28
Speaker 1: finding these guys, Like every time I see them like
27:29
Speaker 1: that man, like this guy kind of looks like someone
27:32
Speaker 1: we know that we're at number ten. I'm like this guy,
27:35
Speaker 1: it's pretty incredible. So um, but you didn't think about
27:38
Speaker 1: it statue wise. He doesn't seem like a big running back,
27:41
Speaker 1: but he's he's tough as nails and he and I
27:44
Speaker 1: know how he'd be teaching them, like you go, you
27:46
Speaker 1: get put one foot in the ground and get up
27:48
Speaker 1: to feel I mean This kid is dynamic, and I
27:50
Speaker 1: think he's really going to be the key if the
27:52
Speaker 1: Chiefs are able to win the ball game, is going
27:54
Speaker 1: to be definitely on his back. Yeah, team, like early
27:55
Speaker 1: in the year, they're kind of protecting him, limiting his
27:58
Speaker 1: touches so they can unleash him. Now you gotta take
28:00
Speaker 1: it listening, all that goes out the window. We're not
28:02
Speaker 1: We're not protecting anyone. We got one game to get
28:05
Speaker 1: to Arizona. I'll be there, so hopefully my chief's world
28:07
Speaker 1: as well. Yeah, writing that hot Ham if that Pacheco
28:10
Speaker 1: certainly is that running back. I got to ask you
28:12
Speaker 1: on this real quick. You spent much of your childhood
28:15
Speaker 1: in Germany. What do you think of the way the
28:16
Speaker 1: NFL has taken off there? There's gonna be two games
28:19
Speaker 1: next year. They had that great Tampa Bay Buccaneers Seattle
28:22
Speaker 1: Seahawks environment earlier this year in Munich. What do you
28:25
Speaker 1: think of all that? Well, I mean my thing is
28:28
Speaker 1: that you know, I've been working on my Dutch obviously,
28:30
Speaker 1: I was born in Germany. My dad was a military
28:31
Speaker 1: man in thirty two years. Uh, it's absolutely amazing that
28:35
Speaker 1: it's really taken on and you're looking at the stands
28:37
Speaker 1: and it's like two teams, but there's like all thirty
28:40
Speaker 1: two jerseys, so the fans come out. I think it
28:42
Speaker 1: was about ninety thousand fans in Munich, about another eighty
28:45
Speaker 1: outside of the stands, and so you know, it's growing.
28:48
Speaker 1: I'm not quite sure when we'll get a team there.
28:50
Speaker 1: I keep saying we because now I do work for
28:51
Speaker 1: the National Football League, but I think London is going
28:54
Speaker 1: to be our our first destination, and we're definitely gonna
28:56
Speaker 1: get at least one or two teams in Germany. And
28:59
Speaker 1: I'm working on my dust because I think, you know,
29:01
Speaker 1: every someone has to go over there and call the games,
29:02
Speaker 1: and might as well be me, Tony. How Q clear
29:05
Speaker 1: you think we might get a team in London? I think.
29:08
Speaker 1: I mean, the way it's looking, I could say I
29:11
Speaker 1: think two years now, Jeremy, I think about four. I
29:14
Speaker 1: mean you already see. I mean the biggest thing is
29:16
Speaker 1: like travel, But I live in New York, and if
29:19
Speaker 1: you're going to say Seattle was six hours, if you're
29:21
Speaker 1: going to London, hey, we can get there in six hours.
29:23
Speaker 1: So I'm all about it. So I definitely thinking about
29:25
Speaker 1: two years. I think we will have two teams in
29:28
Speaker 1: London and hopefully in four years will have now Rogers,
29:31
Speaker 1: a good buddy of mine. Mr Goodale, I'm not putting
29:33
Speaker 1: the car before the horse, but i do think. I
29:36
Speaker 1: think we have a couple of teams in in Munich
29:37
Speaker 1: here pretty soon, and that would be fascinating to see
29:40
Speaker 1: the NFL in Europe full time. Pretty incredible, Tony Richardson,
29:43
Speaker 1: thank you for joining us here. Good luck watching your
29:46
Speaker 1: Chiefs on Sunday. Thank you so much. NFL Now is
29:53
Speaker 1: a production of the NFL in partnership with my Heart Radio.
29:56
Speaker 1: For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the I
29:59
Speaker 1: Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.