Latest / NFL Game Previews / NFL REPORT: Bigger News Monday, a Justin Jefferson conversation

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NFL REPORT: Bigger News Monday, a Justin Jefferson conversation · NFL Game Previews

0:00
Speaker 1: Hi, this is Commissioner Roger Goodell, and this is the
0:04
Speaker 1: NFL Report.
0:05
Speaker 2: Oh sir, the shout out at the start of the
0:11
Speaker 2: NFL Report. We're growing, Steve, I love it. I was
0:14
Speaker 2: in New England just yesterday for Chiefs and Patriots, and
0:19
Speaker 2: I'll just tell you this. I've covered games there for
0:21
Speaker 2: over a decade. It was just an interesting feel there, Steve.
0:24
Speaker 2: With everything circulating, with all these reports about Bill Belichick, it's.
0:28
Speaker 3: Just a weird vibe.
0:30
Speaker 2: And when I talk to everybody there, I'll just say this,
0:32
Speaker 2: I'm not sure there's an easy way for this parting
0:35
Speaker 2: of ways to potentially happen at some point whenever it is,
0:38
Speaker 2: whether it's this offseason or moving forward, just everything that's involved,
0:42
Speaker 2: I'm not sure there's an easy way this goes down.
0:44
Speaker 2: And that's why we're gonna be following it. It's gonna
0:46
Speaker 2: be fascinating.
0:47
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's gonna be the story of the off season, JP,
0:49
Speaker 4: and not just if the Patriots part ways Bill Belichick.
0:53
Speaker 5: Will anybody hire him? Look?
0:55
Speaker 4: I was covering the Dolphins when Don Shula got let go,
0:58
Speaker 4: but there was an ownership change there.
1:00
Speaker 5: Remember when Tom Landry got let go from the Cowboys.
1:02
Speaker 4: There was an ownership change that's not happening in New England.
1:06
Speaker 4: So there's a lot going on. But JP our show today,
1:10
Speaker 4: Oh come on, we just tease you.
1:11
Speaker 5: We had the commissioner through the drop for us.
1:14
Speaker 4: At the top, we have Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson
1:19
Speaker 4: won the baddest man on the planet.
1:21
Speaker 5: Yeah, he's gonna be joining the show today.
1:23
Speaker 4: We're gonna be talking more news about coaches with our
1:26
Speaker 4: own Mike Garafolo. We're also gonna be joined by Omar
1:29
Speaker 4: Ruis and Jeff Chidia. But as always on Monday, it's
1:33
Speaker 4: about bigger Newsy.
1:38
Speaker 6: O line, O line, You're good two hundred yards rushing man, Hey,
1:59
Speaker 6: you prepared your off man, it's so right. It's so
2:02
Speaker 6: what did the old Bills say right when it's too
2:04
Speaker 6: tough for them, It's just right for us, It's just
2:07
Speaker 6: right for Rosy.
2:08
Speaker 4: As coach Sean McDermott post game, which leads to the
2:12
Speaker 4: bigger news. Is it the Bills putting the complete booty
2:17
Speaker 4: whipping on the Cowboys or is it the Ravens going
2:20
Speaker 4: down to Jacksonville and securing a playoff ber.
2:24
Speaker 2: JP, I'm gonna say it's the Bills whipping on them
2:28
Speaker 2: Cowboys because this involves both conferences, it involves the team.
2:33
Speaker 2: Then I'm gonna say this Steve on the NFL report
2:35
Speaker 2: after that game in Philadelphia that the Buffalo Bills came
2:37
Speaker 2: up just short. I think we were the first people
2:39
Speaker 2: to start saying nobody wants to play this team if
2:41
Speaker 2: they get in the postseason. And right now on Monday,
2:44
Speaker 2: it might be the most common thing that's being said
2:46
Speaker 2: on every sports show in America now. Our sports show
2:50
Speaker 2: Game Day Morning on Sunday was doing a breakdown before
2:53
Speaker 2: they were coming to me in New England, and I
2:55
Speaker 2: was listening to all that. It was who has to
2:56
Speaker 2: wear the Superman cape? Is it Dak Prescott or Josh
2:59
Speaker 2: Allen to win this game? Josh Allen didn't even need
3:02
Speaker 2: to go into the phone booth. He renamed Clark Kent
3:05
Speaker 2: the entire game, and they still won in really convincing fashion.
3:10
Speaker 2: He goes, what seven for fifteen for ninety four yards.
3:14
Speaker 2: If you heard more of that locker room speech, you
3:15
Speaker 2: heard him jump in there and grab the game ball
3:17
Speaker 2: and say I didn't throw a pick because he didn't,
3:20
Speaker 2: and they go and run the football for two hundred
3:23
Speaker 2: and sixty six yards. The offensive line was incredible. I
3:26
Speaker 2: talked to Dion Dawkins, or left tackle recently. He said,
3:29
Speaker 2: this guy right here, number four, James Cook. What we
3:31
Speaker 2: love about the way he runs the football Steve is
3:34
Speaker 2: that he just gets downhill fast. He doesn't jump around,
3:37
Speaker 2: he doesn't bounce around. He finds a way to get
3:39
Speaker 2: downhill quickly. You've seen the way Joe Brady has found
3:43
Speaker 2: a way to implement him in the passing game as well.
3:45
Speaker 2: He's been a dynamic playmaker for this team. Josh Allen
3:49
Speaker 2: told me just last week. With the attention that Stefan
3:51
Speaker 2: Diggs gets, this guy has been able to find different
3:54
Speaker 2: spots to create space and make plays. This offense is cooking.
3:59
Speaker 2: And they didn't even need Josh Allen to be I said,
4:03
Speaker 2: he didn't even get in the phone booth. I'm not
4:04
Speaker 2: sure if he ever even woke up Steve.
4:06
Speaker 5: And they won the game. He didn't have to. And
4:08
Speaker 5: you mentioned Joe Brady the new offensive coordinator.
4:10
Speaker 4: We're gonna have a big discussion about him and other
4:13
Speaker 4: coordinators in just a minute. But as big news as
4:15
Speaker 4: that was, it's probably more so because people love the
4:18
Speaker 4: hating on the Cowboys are loving on the Cowboys. The
4:20
Speaker 4: bigger news is the Baltimore Ravens going down to Jacksonville
4:24
Speaker 4: in a huge game and taking advantage of a bunch
4:27
Speaker 4: of Jags mistakes.
4:28
Speaker 5: To win the ball game.
4:30
Speaker 4: A lot of players for the Ravens out, especially on
4:32
Speaker 4: that offensive line, but the world got to see this
4:36
Speaker 4: expanded offense and how Lamar Jackson showed it's.
4:40
Speaker 5: His world and we're all living in it.
4:42
Speaker 4: And you saw some of the Houdini plays, the player
4:45
Speaker 4: where he rolls out, escapes pressure, gets it up to
4:48
Speaker 4: Isaiah likely how he runs it, but really only to
4:51
Speaker 4: set up the pass, and just the overall.
4:54
Speaker 5: Dominant play by that defense.
4:57
Speaker 4: The defense wasn't that dominant, but just as a compl
5:00
Speaker 4: military game that they had, it goes to show that
5:02
Speaker 4: they might be the most dangerous team in the AFC.
5:06
Speaker 4: Plus by beating Jacksonville and the Jacks taking that loss,
5:09
Speaker 4: that whole AFC South is jumble JP which takes.
5:13
Speaker 5: Us to our next bigger news segment.
5:18
Speaker 4: Is it bigger news that the Colts, Browns and the
5:22
Speaker 4: Bengals are occupying all three AFC wild card spots with
5:25
Speaker 4: backup quarterbacks?
5:27
Speaker 5: Or is it bigger news?
5:28
Speaker 4: And we talked about it last week that the Chiefs,
5:31
Speaker 4: the Lions, and the Dolphins got their mojo back after
5:35
Speaker 4: suffering losses in Week fourteen.
5:38
Speaker 2: I'm going with the mojo. I'll go with the mojo
5:40
Speaker 2: every time. I'm gonna go with the big teams that
5:42
Speaker 2: we love to see when the best teams in football,
5:44
Speaker 2: Steve are playing well down the stretch and playing well
5:47
Speaker 2: into the postseason.
5:48
Speaker 3: Let's go down the line there. I was at that game.
5:50
Speaker 2: Like I mentioned, Kansas City Chiefs eliminated some of the penalties.
5:53
Speaker 2: Drops were still a little bit of an issue, but
5:55
Speaker 2: I think they got their mojo back when we saw
5:56
Speaker 2: that trick play. Joe Tooney ends up snapping the ball
6:00
Speaker 2: Jet McKinnon, who pitches it forward in a pass which
6:03
Speaker 2: they've always run it as a handoff. I was told
6:05
Speaker 2: in practice, he actually throws it as a pass Taver,
6:07
Speaker 2: she writes to me. That shows that they kind of
6:10
Speaker 2: got their swagger back a little bit.
6:11
Speaker 3: Those trick plays.
6:12
Speaker 2: I go get the Lions and they maybe beat the
6:14
Speaker 2: best team out of these three teams this past weekend,
6:16
Speaker 2: and the Denver Broncos that were playing so well defensively.
6:19
Speaker 3: I got a text from a Broncos.
6:21
Speaker 2: Defensive coach before that game saying they don't just have
6:23
Speaker 2: a few young stars, they have a few young budding superstars.
6:27
Speaker 2: And it's two on offense, two on defense. Jamier Gibbs
6:30
Speaker 2: and Sam Laporta were dominant. Brian Branch and Jack Conka
6:33
Speaker 2: also dominant on their side of the ball. This Lions
6:36
Speaker 2: team got back on track tremendously. And lastly, Steve, it's
6:39
Speaker 2: the Dolphins winning a game without Tyreek Hill. I think
6:43
Speaker 2: that does a lot for their mentality, for their mental
6:46
Speaker 2: confidence to go out there and do it as we
6:48
Speaker 2: saw what they lacked the week before with Tyreek Hill
6:51
Speaker 2: coming in and out of that game, and Tua was
6:52
Speaker 2: phenomenal in the first half before Mike McDaniel kind of
6:55
Speaker 2: let off the gas in the second half.
6:57
Speaker 4: Yeah, and the Jets, who they're playing, were an appso
7:00
Speaker 4: hot mess as well. I am going I'm welling with
7:04
Speaker 4: these backup quarterback story.
7:05
Speaker 5: That's been the theme of the season, in the fact
7:07
Speaker 5: you love.
7:07
Speaker 4: These three quarterbacks that Gardner Minshew, Joe Flacco and Jake
7:11
Speaker 4: Brownie have their teams at Wild Card contention like firmly
7:14
Speaker 4: for the most part.
7:15
Speaker 5: In Wildcard contention.
7:17
Speaker 4: To me, is the big story now We're gonna talk
7:19
Speaker 4: Gardner Minshew a little bit later on. So I want
7:20
Speaker 4: to focus on the two quarterbacks from Ohio, especially since
7:23
Speaker 4: I was at that.
7:24
Speaker 5: Bengals Vikings game. Here's how it's in patico. These two are.
7:28
Speaker 4: Not only did they come back from double digit deficits
7:31
Speaker 4: in the fourth quarter.
7:33
Speaker 5: But else he rolled the tape. Watch the story by Brownie.
7:35
Speaker 3: He's rolling, he's rolling.
7:37
Speaker 5: Watch where he sticks it.
7:38
Speaker 4: Tyler Boyd takes it on the right sideline, runs it
7:41
Speaker 4: up the field. It looks like a house call. He
7:43
Speaker 4: gets tackled, Josh, but tell us the crew get him
7:45
Speaker 4: right there. That sets up the game winning field goal.
7:47
Speaker 4: Now let's go to Cleveland. Flacco rolls right from the
7:51
Speaker 4: same part of the field, throws it to a Marty
7:53
Speaker 4: Cooper catch it on the same sideline.
7:55
Speaker 5: This time he tied ropes it to the house call.
7:57
Speaker 5: That ties football game. Joe Flacco Jake Browning. You could
8:01
Speaker 5: almost run the same tape between.
8:04
Speaker 4: Three defenders, both of them in the same part of
8:07
Speaker 4: the field.
8:08
Speaker 3: James.
8:09
Speaker 4: They're on the same wavelength right here. Joe Flacco, Jake Browning.
8:14
Speaker 4: They're gonna continue to do things like this until they
8:16
Speaker 4: meet in week eighteen in the season finale that could
8:20
Speaker 4: determine which one.
8:21
Speaker 5: Or both both go to the playoffs.
8:24
Speaker 4: But again, the story of the backup quarterback, especially Browning
8:26
Speaker 4: and Flacco. I can't get enough of it. That's why
8:29
Speaker 4: that's bigger news coming out of this weekend.
8:33
Speaker 3: I love it.
8:33
Speaker 2: And Steve did not touch on Gardner Minshew as he
8:35
Speaker 2: told you, we're gonna break Gardner down even further. Omar
8:38
Speaker 2: Ruiz had a private conversation with him in the Colts
8:40
Speaker 2: locker room.
8:41
Speaker 3: That's gonna be massive.
8:42
Speaker 2: But you know it's even bigger than that, Steve, I
8:44
Speaker 2: don't know, arguably the best receiver in.
8:45
Speaker 3: All of football. You could lose the term arguably.
8:48
Speaker 2: It's Justin Jefferson is going to be joining the show.
8:52
Speaker 2: The Minnesota Vikings star wide out. Why do they have
8:56
Speaker 2: a chance to still win the division? Can they do it?
8:58
Speaker 2: We'll ask Jju Coming up also much more about the
9:02
Speaker 2: receiver room and everything going on with a variety of
9:05
Speaker 2: quarterbacks that they continue to shuffle through. The culture in
9:08
Speaker 2: Minnesota has been established more with Justin Jefferson coming up
9:12
Speaker 2: next on the NFL Report, Welcome back to the NFL Report,
9:15
Speaker 2: James Palmer, Steve weisch with you and arguably the best
9:18
Speaker 2: receiver in all of football. He'll probably tell me to
9:20
Speaker 2: lose the arguably, We'll just say best receiver in all
9:22
Speaker 2: of football, justin Jefferson, the All Pro from the Minnesota Vikings.
9:27
Speaker 3: I'm gonna start off with a question. I need your opinion.
9:30
Speaker 2: What is a better feeling catching a touchdown pass, maybe
9:33
Speaker 2: in dramatic fashion, or when you and kJ Osborne can
9:38
Speaker 2: take families that you're sponsoring from the Salvation Army up
9:41
Speaker 2: and down the aisles of target and fill Christmas lists.
9:45
Speaker 2: Which one is a better feeling?
9:49
Speaker 7: Definitely the second option.
9:50
Speaker 8: Man, The first option is a good feeling, but that section,
9:55
Speaker 8: the second option, is even a better feeling. Just that
9:58
Speaker 8: experience alone was fantastic. Seeing the smiles and seeing the
10:02
Speaker 8: joy on those kids faces and even the parents, just
10:07
Speaker 8: the memory of a lifetime and I'm excited to be
10:10
Speaker 8: a part of that experience for them.
10:12
Speaker 5: Well, Ess, I'm glad.
10:13
Speaker 4: I'm glad you got just as much out of it
10:15
Speaker 4: as they did. That's awesome to hear talk a little football.
10:19
Speaker 4: We know you guys had a tough lost Saturday at
10:22
Speaker 4: Cincinnati in your first game back from from you know,
10:25
Speaker 4: coming back from that injury the week.
10:26
Speaker 5: Before, but you didn't lose any playoff ground.
10:28
Speaker 4: You guys are still very much in the hunt, right
10:31
Speaker 4: there is that kind of the message that everybody is
10:34
Speaker 4: pushing from from this weekend.
10:37
Speaker 8: I mean to be honest, we're pushing that these three
10:41
Speaker 8: divisional games that we have left in the season, you know,
10:44
Speaker 8: that are that are very big for us. You know,
10:46
Speaker 8: we we haven't played Detroit yet. We still have to
10:48
Speaker 8: play Detroit twice, and we played Green Bay Sunday night
10:52
Speaker 8: next week. So it's definitely a big upcoming three games
10:56
Speaker 8: that we have that will you know, determine the outcome
10:59
Speaker 8: of this season. Of course, you know, we want to
11:02
Speaker 8: be the main ones to hold the throne in the North,
11:06
Speaker 8: so of course you want to come into these three.
11:09
Speaker 7: Games swinging and ready to go.
11:12
Speaker 8: Of course, going into these three games and postseason after
11:16
Speaker 8: so it's definitely an upcoming stress for us.
11:19
Speaker 2: Okay, yeah, justin to be able to do that. That's
11:23
Speaker 2: a football show. You like x's and o's. We likes
11:25
Speaker 2: to go a little deep here. You got Nick Mullens
11:27
Speaker 2: again as your quarterback. What I'm curious about is all
11:30
Speaker 2: the hand signals that go on maybe even when you're
11:32
Speaker 2: lined up that you would do with Kirk and the
11:34
Speaker 2: little gestures that quarterbacks and receivers give to one another.
11:37
Speaker 2: Is that lost since you haven't spent a lot of
11:40
Speaker 2: time together. If it's not, how do you develop that
11:43
Speaker 2: type of feel with a quarterback you haven't played with
11:46
Speaker 2: a lot.
11:47
Speaker 8: Yeah, I feel like it's not lost, just because I
11:50
Speaker 8: feel like Nick has been doing a great job in
11:54
Speaker 8: just learning from Kirk, you know, being in the back
11:56
Speaker 8: of the huddle or walking through the.
11:58
Speaker 7: Plays like he in the game.
12:01
Speaker 8: So we always have that confidence in him, especially with
12:05
Speaker 8: our preparation that we have throughout the week. And I mean,
12:09
Speaker 8: as people can see, he's able to throw the ball,
12:11
Speaker 8: He's able to make some throws. You know, as skill position,
12:15
Speaker 8: we're going to do whatever we can to make his
12:18
Speaker 8: job a little bit easier.
12:20
Speaker 4: Yeah, And justin to that point, I mean, he only
12:21
Speaker 4: had seven incompletions in that game against Cincinnati, threw for
12:25
Speaker 4: more than.
12:25
Speaker 5: Three hundred yards.
12:26
Speaker 4: You guys moved the ball in that game offensively. What
12:30
Speaker 4: do you think you guys needed you to tie things together,
12:33
Speaker 4: like you said against the Lions, especially upcoming this week.
12:38
Speaker 8: Honestly, we just need to put those plays together. We
12:41
Speaker 8: just need to carry that momentum, you know, we just
12:45
Speaker 8: need to carry the consistency, you know, just after drive
12:49
Speaker 8: after drive, just stacking those plays together. And of course,
12:53
Speaker 8: you know, if we're having the date that we had
12:57
Speaker 8: on thirty one and fourth and inches, we need to
13:00
Speaker 8: get that you need to get those yardists.
13:02
Speaker 7: You know, we need to extend that drive.
13:04
Speaker 8: Of course, the defense did a fantastic job by giving
13:07
Speaker 8: us the ball back in the overtime. So it's our
13:11
Speaker 8: job as an offense by going down uh and scoring
13:15
Speaker 8: and winning the game.
13:18
Speaker 3: Juse your entire offense.
13:20
Speaker 2: You look at the receiver group that you guys had
13:22
Speaker 2: the time that you were out. We saw Jordan Adison
13:25
Speaker 2: kind of emerge and grow. So I'm curious about the
13:28
Speaker 2: guy that runs that room in Keenan mccardo. So a
13:31
Speaker 2: few questions about Keenan. Does he a have the greatest
13:34
Speaker 2: smile in the world?
13:35
Speaker 4: Uh?
13:36
Speaker 2: And B what is it like having a guy that
13:40
Speaker 2: played the position at such a high level be your
13:43
Speaker 2: position coach?
13:44
Speaker 3: What's the advantage there?
13:45
Speaker 7: You think, well, he definitely have the best smile. Man,
13:52
Speaker 7: I'm not gonna lie too. I mean, just having you.
13:58
Speaker 8: Know, a person like him that played into the league
14:02
Speaker 8: seventeen years, knows the feeling of being out there on
14:05
Speaker 8: the field, you know, knows the injuries, knows the circumstances
14:10
Speaker 8: of you know, just everything that goes on throughout the building.
14:16
Speaker 8: It's great to have him, you know, there with us.
14:19
Speaker 8: You know, when Mike Zimmer left and coach Kevin O'Connell came.
14:24
Speaker 8: You know, that was one of the things that I
14:26
Speaker 8: requested was for him to stay with us. I love
14:29
Speaker 8: him as a person, love him as a coach, and
14:32
Speaker 8: it's definitely been great to have him teach me different
14:34
Speaker 8: things throughout the season because you know, I'm not the
14:38
Speaker 8: perfect receiver.
14:39
Speaker 7: I don't know everything.
14:40
Speaker 8: So for him to give me information and to make
14:44
Speaker 8: me a better receiver, it's been great.
14:48
Speaker 4: You know, I love hearing that story, you know, that
14:50
Speaker 4: type of stuff. But Jordan Addison Toude, what can you
14:52
Speaker 4: say about the rookie because he keeps showing up week
14:55
Speaker 4: after week.
14:57
Speaker 8: I mean, he did exactly what we expected him to do,
15:00
Speaker 8: was filling in a major role. Of course, you know,
15:03
Speaker 8: trading Adam was a big big move for us. You know,
15:07
Speaker 8: we were looking for that number two spot. Of course,
15:11
Speaker 8: we have the confidence in kJ uh uh.
15:15
Speaker 7: To to make players for us.
15:17
Speaker 8: But you know, of course we need another spark on
15:19
Speaker 8: our offense, and he filled a major role, especially when
15:23
Speaker 8: I got injured, by making players for us and being
15:27
Speaker 8: that spark that we needed most definitely. So I'm excited
15:31
Speaker 8: to see, you know what more that he has and
15:34
Speaker 8: can do for us, but to see the progression that
15:37
Speaker 8: he has throughout the whole season. Uh, He's a tremendous receiver.
15:41
Speaker 8: He's a great route runner, and he's been making some
15:45
Speaker 8: some crucial plays for us.
15:49
Speaker 2: What what makes We talked about the slot a lot
15:52
Speaker 2: on our show, and I'm curious about you moving inside
15:55
Speaker 2: and number ones that play inside outside, guys that can
15:58
Speaker 2: move around in today's game so much. What does that
16:01
Speaker 2: do as a number one receiver to your advantage you
16:04
Speaker 2: think as opposed to maybe years ago where TiO would
16:07
Speaker 2: just sit outside.
16:08
Speaker 3: You know, things like that.
16:11
Speaker 8: You know, that's That's the one thing that I like
16:13
Speaker 8: most is just being able to move throughout the whole
16:17
Speaker 8: offense by being put in different positions where the defense
16:21
Speaker 8: don't know where I'm I'm gonna line up at. I
16:23
Speaker 8: can line up in the slot, I can line up outside,
16:26
Speaker 8: I can line up at the running back spot. I
16:28
Speaker 8: can line up at the number three spot at the
16:30
Speaker 8: receiver position. So it's just so many things that I
16:34
Speaker 8: can do in the offense. And that's what I like
16:36
Speaker 8: about Ko's offense. He's able to put me in different positions,
16:40
Speaker 8: motion me to different sides, and making things look different
16:44
Speaker 8: but the same at the same time. So I'm definitely
16:48
Speaker 8: excited to be in this type of offense. Just like
16:51
Speaker 8: I was saying before, I was asking how Cooper Cup
16:54
Speaker 8: was making so many different plays and getting open so
16:57
Speaker 8: many different times. But now I really lies in and
17:00
Speaker 8: understand the gust of it. But uh, it's definitely kudos
17:04
Speaker 8: to Cooper Cup by learning this type of position and
17:08
Speaker 8: then uh, you know, being everywhere on the field.
17:11
Speaker 5: Great stuff.
17:11
Speaker 4: Hey, just you know, when I when I was watching
17:13
Speaker 4: a lot of games on Sunday, I saw your commercial
17:15
Speaker 4: with Little Caesars like four hundred and seventy five thousand times,
17:19
Speaker 4: and you're good man, You're like, really really good.
17:22
Speaker 5: You got a career in doing this stuff. But what
17:24
Speaker 5: are you doing with Little Caesars.
17:27
Speaker 8: Yeah, the official piece of sponsor of the NFL, Little
17:30
Speaker 8: Caesars and PEPSI is doing a special gift giveaway. So
17:34
Speaker 8: you got a call doing the postseason, you gotta do
17:37
Speaker 8: your little order and you might win a special prize.
17:40
Speaker 7: Who knows it might be some tickets, might get some
17:43
Speaker 7: Super Bowl tickets, who knows.
17:45
Speaker 8: Who knows it might have an eight inch flat screen
17:48
Speaker 8: in your living room, who knows.
17:49
Speaker 7: I don't know what. Hey screen, I know you're doing
17:59
Speaker 7: one too. I know that eighty.
18:02
Speaker 9: Got Yeah, I'm all about it now.
18:08
Speaker 3: Oh that's killer. So is this is this the postgame
18:11
Speaker 3: pregame campaign? Is that part of this?
18:15
Speaker 7: Yes, sir, you know Ali, I mean you and Alibody.
18:19
Speaker 8: Now, now we need to get fans to know about
18:24
Speaker 8: it too, so they need to call in during the
18:26
Speaker 8: postseason to get their special prize.
18:29
Speaker 4: Here they come with Buffalo Bills, two big wins in
18:33
Speaker 4: a row over two major contenders.
18:36
Speaker 5: We're gonna be talking about the Bills and looking forward.
18:40
Speaker 4: We come back after the break with their own Mike Garrifolo.
18:43
Speaker 5: This is the NFL Report.
18:47
Speaker 7: I am Aron Johnson, Bill's cornerback, and this is NFL Report.
18:51
Speaker 3: Boom.
18:52
Speaker 2: Taron Johnson was on the show. Now Mike Garrifolo is
18:54
Speaker 2: on the show, and we're gonna talk about Taron Johnson's
18:57
Speaker 2: his head coach, like we have about Sean McDermott. We
19:01
Speaker 2: asked him about the locker room and where things are
19:04
Speaker 2: after that win that they had at Arrowhead. He said,
19:07
Speaker 2: the love for our head coaches through the roof. You
19:09
Speaker 2: guys don't see a lot of it, but what we
19:11
Speaker 2: have between our coaches and players is something special. What
19:14
Speaker 2: we want to ask you is with that game and
19:17
Speaker 2: with the one that they just had against the Dallas Cowboys,
19:19
Speaker 2: is the seat that some people were curious about. With
19:22
Speaker 2: Sean McDermott no longer hot. It is an ice buffalo
19:26
Speaker 2: cold right now.
19:29
Speaker 1: I love this race to put people on the hot
19:31
Speaker 1: seat here, and we're going to talk about the Buccaneers
19:34
Speaker 1: in a second. Todd Bowles was on the hot seat
19:36
Speaker 1: and folks who covered the team down there were openly
19:39
Speaker 1: stating that it's time maybe to move on.
19:41
Speaker 10: And now they're leading the.
19:42
Speaker 1: Division at seven and seven, on the way potentially do
19:45
Speaker 1: a nine and eight record. Now you've got Sean McDermott
19:47
Speaker 1: still on the outside looking in the playoffs. But you
19:49
Speaker 1: see the way their schedule lines up over the last
19:51
Speaker 1: couple of weeks, there's no reason why they shouldn't be
19:54
Speaker 1: in the postseason, which is going to scare a lot
19:56
Speaker 1: of people because they're saying that's the team we don't
19:58
Speaker 1: want in the playoffs number one and number two. They're
20:02
Speaker 1: gonna be riding that momentum and that sense of brotherhood,
20:07
Speaker 1: that rallying behind their head coach. I'm not saying that
20:09
Speaker 1: what Sean McDermott said about the nine to eleven hijackers
20:15
Speaker 1: was warranted or wise, certainly wasn't. It was pretty stupid,
20:19
Speaker 1: but he realized that a while ago and apologized for it.
20:22
Speaker 10: And so this coming to light.
20:23
Speaker 1: Almost feels like, well, we've already dealt with that, and
20:27
Speaker 1: feels like you guys are taking some shots and grabbing
20:30
Speaker 1: at straws right in their minds because that's a non
20:34
Speaker 1: story in their minds at this point, because it's already.
20:36
Speaker 3: Been dealt with.
20:37
Speaker 1: So it's it's been a rallying point and you heard
20:40
Speaker 1: the you talk about that locker room in arrahead. You
20:43
Speaker 1: heard the audio, Hey coach, we got you back, and
20:46
Speaker 1: so it's become this rallying point and something that this
20:48
Speaker 1: team needed because it could have gone either way, and
20:51
Speaker 1: right now it is moving in the right direction for
20:53
Speaker 1: Sean McDermott, which is which is good, Which is good
20:56
Speaker 1: for him. Because I've known Sean since his days in Philly.
21:00
Speaker 1: I think he's really a terrific guy in a lot
21:03
Speaker 1: of ways, in a good coach. And so now you're
21:05
Speaker 1: starting to see it despite that mistake that he made
21:07
Speaker 1: a couple of years ago, you're starting to see everybody
21:10
Speaker 1: else fighting for him in that Bill's locker room.
21:13
Speaker 4: Yeah, and I will hardly agree with your opinion of
21:15
Speaker 4: Sean McDermot. I think he's a fantastic human being.
21:18
Speaker 5: And Mike.
21:18
Speaker 4: We've seen a lot of coaches pull their teams through
21:20
Speaker 4: adversity this season, especially going with the backup quarterback route,
21:23
Speaker 4: and I've got to give some praise to Kevin Stefanski.
21:26
Speaker 4: I think when we come down to what's going you know,
21:27
Speaker 4: the Coach of the Year award, everyone talks about that
21:29
Speaker 4: in a million different ways. You can justify it for
21:32
Speaker 4: a lot of coaches. Kevin Stefanski's got to be there.
21:33
Speaker 5: I mean they've been there through four quarterbacks, They've lost
21:36
Speaker 5: their starting running back, their starting right.
21:38
Speaker 4: Tackle, They've dealt with a whole lot, and somehow he's
21:41
Speaker 4: been able to adapt from one quarterback from the mobile
21:44
Speaker 4: quarterbacks to Joe Flacco and to win ball games down
21:47
Speaker 4: the stretch. We've seen the Chief David Njokuh we're seeing
21:49
Speaker 4: right here show.
21:50
Speaker 5: Up in big ways.
21:51
Speaker 3: You know.
21:52
Speaker 5: Of course, the defense has been the constant JP.
21:54
Speaker 4: But the fact that Kevin Stefanski, and we know before
21:57
Speaker 4: he got there that building was always in Surrey, has
22:01
Speaker 4: stabilized things, put his armed round to stop a lot
22:04
Speaker 4: of the leaks coming.
22:04
Speaker 5: Out of that building.
22:06
Speaker 4: The fact that he has been able to be a
22:07
Speaker 4: CEO and a good head coach at the same time
22:10
Speaker 4: in a season like this, I think has been huge.
22:13
Speaker 2: I'll say the guy that is still in the same
22:16
Speaker 2: state of Ohio, Steve that has gotten his team through
22:18
Speaker 2: adversity as well.
22:19
Speaker 3: I think it's Zach Taylor.
22:20
Speaker 2: And I was with this team a lot early on
22:22
Speaker 2: in the season when they were trying to say, don't worry,
22:25
Speaker 2: We're going to figure this out. You know, Joejoe Burrow
22:27
Speaker 2: is gonna bounce back, He's gonna get healthy with the calf.
22:29
Speaker 2: Everybody just kept saying, there's never any panic from our
22:31
Speaker 2: head coach. We've been through slow starts in the past.
22:33
Speaker 2: We always find a way to just stay even keel
22:36
Speaker 2: and get better as the year goes on. And now
22:38
Speaker 2: you're seeing them doing it with Jake Browning like they've
22:40
Speaker 2: set him up from his offensive mind and Brian Callahan,
22:44
Speaker 2: who probably is not getting enough credit as well, the
22:46
Speaker 2: offensive coordinator there. And how they have set things up
22:49
Speaker 2: for brown to be successful, and how they've changed some
22:51
Speaker 2: of the things and the looks that they give and
22:53
Speaker 2: the formations that they give and how they go about
22:55
Speaker 2: this offense to put him in positions to succeed has
22:58
Speaker 2: been absolutely tremendous. That's why I think Zach has also
23:01
Speaker 2: done a great job in terms of getting his team
23:03
Speaker 2: through adversity.
23:04
Speaker 3: Now that they sit there, Mike.
23:05
Speaker 2: At eight and six, sixth in the AFC, and this
23:09
Speaker 2: guy is like, I don't know if Joe Burrow could
23:11
Speaker 2: play better than he's playing over the last couple of weeks,
23:13
Speaker 2: which is an unreal statement to say that this team
23:15
Speaker 2: is dealt with one of the.
23:16
Speaker 3: Faces of the NFL go down. I'm serious, it's phenomenal.
23:20
Speaker 2: This guy's could be sixty nine percent of his past
23:22
Speaker 2: since seventy five, six seventy three. It's crazy, Mike, who
23:26
Speaker 2: do you have in terms of a coach that is
23:28
Speaker 2: leading their team right now through the landmines of December.
23:33
Speaker 10: Yeah, and this goes week to week.
23:35
Speaker 1: Because you'd asked me this last week, I probably would
23:37
Speaker 1: have said Kevin O'Connell, right like he coming off that
23:40
Speaker 1: loss against Cincinnati, which was a close game. I mean,
23:43
Speaker 1: he certainly did everything he could to put his team
23:45
Speaker 1: in Nick Moens in position to win the game. When
23:48
Speaker 1: you talk about coach of the year, it's always going
23:50
Speaker 1: to be somebody who did more with.
23:53
Speaker 10: Less the Coach of the Year award. You may not
23:55
Speaker 10: realize this.
23:56
Speaker 1: The last time Andy Reid won it Andy Reid two
23:59
Speaker 1: thousand and two, you almost get penalized for having a
24:02
Speaker 1: great quarterback, yep, for being successful year in and year out.
24:06
Speaker 1: Belichick's won it, I think two or three times, probably
24:08
Speaker 1: should have won it like six along the way. So
24:11
Speaker 1: you're always looking for that criteria that we're talking about here.
24:13
Speaker 3: Now.
24:13
Speaker 1: Antonio Pierce is not gonna win the Coach of the
24:16
Speaker 1: Year award.
24:17
Speaker 3: He might win is the full.
24:19
Speaker 1: Time job the Las Vegas Raiders as the head coach,
24:22
Speaker 1: and the way that he's been lifting this team up
24:24
Speaker 1: and playing with the swagger. I thought that hit the
24:27
Speaker 1: gas pedal even harder that he told Kaylee Hartung they
24:30
Speaker 1: were up big already. That was old school Raiders, and
24:34
Speaker 1: this is an old school Raider guy. And he showed
24:36
Speaker 1: up in that old school Raider jacket. And if Mark
24:39
Speaker 1: Davis is trying to channel the Raiders that we knew
24:42
Speaker 1: and loved back in the seventies and the eighties and
24:46
Speaker 1: even for a portion of the nineties, this is the
24:48
Speaker 1: kind of guy that's gonna get you there. And I
24:51
Speaker 1: thought even the games that they've lost, that Kansas City game,
24:55
Speaker 1: I thought they schemed it up great.
24:57
Speaker 10: I thought he had him ready to play.
24:58
Speaker 1: They played well early the game, and then it was
25:01
Speaker 1: like talent and adjustments are gonna overcome and they're just
25:05
Speaker 1: not there yet. The Raiders aren't. So I almost don't
25:07
Speaker 1: even grate them on the second half of that game.
25:09
Speaker 1: The Minnesota game, they certainly played good defense, they just
25:12
Speaker 1: couldn't get things right offensively. And I think if he
25:14
Speaker 1: keeps the head coaching job, they'll be a change in
25:16
Speaker 1: offensive coordinator and he'll go out and he'll find his
25:19
Speaker 1: own guy. But I think he's doing a great job
25:21
Speaker 1: of leading this team. In six three and three, I
25:24
Speaker 1: think a five hundred record is kind of what I
25:26
Speaker 1: had in my head. If he can get them to
25:27
Speaker 1: that point, they'll make a statement for the long term.
25:30
Speaker 5: Job.
25:30
Speaker 1: Should have been good enough for Steve Wilkes when he
25:32
Speaker 1: did it last year in Carolina. But that's a different story.
25:34
Speaker 1: We're talking about Antonio Pierce here. I think he's doing
25:36
Speaker 1: a nice.
25:37
Speaker 10: Job of leading this team in what I would call adversity.
25:39
Speaker 10: For sure.
25:40
Speaker 3: Yep, yeah, for sure.
25:42
Speaker 2: And we started this conversation with Sean McDermott, who we
25:45
Speaker 2: saw get you know, move on from his offensive coordinator
25:47
Speaker 2: and Ken Dorsey and then moves forward with Joe Brady.
25:50
Speaker 2: Over the last several games, we've seen a change there,
25:52
Speaker 2: and we saw another no coordinator title change Mike with.
25:56
Speaker 3: The Philadelphia Eagles.
25:57
Speaker 2: But somebody else is running that defense in Philadelphi, and
26:00
Speaker 2: it's Matt Patricia. Sean Desai is still technically the defensive coordinator.
26:04
Speaker 2: He's not calling the defense, he's not running the defense.
26:07
Speaker 2: How did we get here in Philadelphia?
26:12
Speaker 10: John Desai is a good coach.
26:15
Speaker 1: He certainly had success over his career as a position coach,
26:18
Speaker 1: which put him in a position to be.
26:19
Speaker 10: A defensive coordinator.
26:20
Speaker 1: Doesn't sound like he had control over the whole thing
26:24
Speaker 1: and didn't have that authoritative kind of presence that you
26:27
Speaker 1: want from your defensive coordinator. I also thought it was
26:29
Speaker 1: a strike against him that at one point this team
26:31
Speaker 1: thought they were gonna have Vic Fangio as their defensive coach,
26:34
Speaker 1: So he was sort of the sy was fighting an
26:37
Speaker 1: uphill a battle against the shadow of a guy who
26:39
Speaker 1: was with this team during the playoff run last year,
26:42
Speaker 1: helping the offense.
26:43
Speaker 10: So you got Matt Patricia, who didn't do a great
26:46
Speaker 10: job as a head coach.
26:47
Speaker 1: We know that, and certainly would learn his lessons and
26:50
Speaker 1: do things differently if he got a chance to do
26:52
Speaker 1: that again. But as a defensive coordinator, the skins are
26:54
Speaker 1: on the wall and the titles are on the wall,
26:57
Speaker 1: So to have that guy at your disposal can rest
27:01
Speaker 1: it up anyway. Well, I want to give this saya
27:03
Speaker 1: a different vantage point, and he's still the defensive coordinator.
27:06
Speaker 1: If Matt Patricia goes out and plays and calls a
27:08
Speaker 1: great game, Matt Patricia is the defensive coordinator for this
27:10
Speaker 1: team moving forward in twenty three and likely beyond as well.
27:14
Speaker 1: Now I will say this about Patricia when this went down,
27:17
Speaker 1: actually before it went down, because I knew it was coming.
27:20
Speaker 10: Ian had the report ready and I.
27:21
Speaker 1: Was talking as somebody who speaks regularly to players down
27:26
Speaker 1: in Philly, and he said, you know, it's so funny.
27:28
Speaker 1: I just had this conversation with a couple of guys
27:30
Speaker 1: the other day and they were talking glowingly about Patricia.
27:33
Speaker 1: I don't even think they knew that the move was coming,
27:35
Speaker 1: but they were talking about this guy is so shocked. Okay,
27:38
Speaker 1: he knows his stuff. He's impressed him to the upside
27:41
Speaker 1: since he's been there. So I think these defensive players
27:44
Speaker 1: are excited to go out, go out there and play
27:46
Speaker 1: for him. Well, I know he and Slay had a history.
27:48
Speaker 1: Slay's not gonna play He's got that and just Case
27:50
Speaker 1: is watching them calling him Slay. It's ironic he had
27:52
Speaker 1: that knee surgery. So yeah, I think these guys are
27:57
Speaker 1: gonna go out and play hard for Matt Patricia. I
27:58
Speaker 1: think they're excited by the prospect and being their coordinator.
28:01
Speaker 4: Well, and you have to hope for the players that
28:02
Speaker 4: you know, he's started how to communicate better and he
28:04
Speaker 4: did learn from his experience in Detroit, because we do
28:06
Speaker 4: know with the Patriots he was a good DC.
28:08
Speaker 5: Just real quick speaking to dcs.
28:10
Speaker 4: You know some guys who I think are going to
28:11
Speaker 4: keep their teams in contention, and you talked about it, Mike,
28:14
Speaker 4: you you're almost penalized for having great players.
28:16
Speaker 5: But I think the job.
28:17
Speaker 4: Steve Wilkes has done since he's come down from the
28:19
Speaker 4: booth onto the field with one of the few changes
28:21
Speaker 4: that we've seen so to speak with the San Francisco
28:24
Speaker 4: forty nine ers, that's helped that defense has been so
28:27
Speaker 4: excuse me, so much better since they won in a
28:30
Speaker 4: three game losing streak. So, you know, the job Steve
28:32
Speaker 4: Wilkes has done absolutely needs to be commended. And in Cincinnati,
28:36
Speaker 4: you know, I just did a production meeting with lou
28:38
Speaker 4: Ana Roumo.
28:38
Speaker 5: Their numbers aren't there.
28:40
Speaker 4: They don't say they're a great defense, but they make
28:42
Speaker 4: the timely plays you have to make JP when you
28:44
Speaker 4: make a playoff run.
28:47
Speaker 3: Oh for sure, those are two really good picks.
28:49
Speaker 2: I'm gonna stick with a coordinator that we kind of
28:50
Speaker 2: mentioned a little bit earlier, and Joe Brady.
28:52
Speaker 3: This is a big part of the turnaround.
28:54
Speaker 2: When I talk to people in Buffalo, specifically guys on
28:56
Speaker 2: that side of the ball, it's Josh Allen is having fun.
28:59
Speaker 2: Josh Allen is playing in rhythm, and Josh Allen is
29:02
Speaker 2: having the ability to have positive plays stacked on one
29:06
Speaker 2: another to where they can go see him be that
29:08
Speaker 2: Superman type player that they're gonna need in times. They
29:11
Speaker 2: didn't need it against Dallas, but they're gonna need it
29:13
Speaker 2: in these last couple of weeks. And he's also found
29:15
Speaker 2: ways to get James Cook the football in a variety
29:18
Speaker 2: of ways, and I think that's been huge, the change
29:21
Speaker 2: in the run game, the emphasis there, Mike.
29:23
Speaker 3: I think Joe Brady's done a great job there.
29:24
Speaker 2: Just getting your quarterback comfortable is huge, especially when they're
29:28
Speaker 2: as talented as Josh Allen.
29:30
Speaker 1: My coordinator on fire right now is Dave Canalis down
29:33
Speaker 1: there with the Buccaneers. I covered the Giants back in
29:35
Speaker 1: two thousand and seven. Everybody thought it was gonna be
29:37
Speaker 1: one and done for Tom Cofflin. He was looking for
29:39
Speaker 1: a defensive coordinator and a lot of people didn't want
29:41
Speaker 1: the job, wouldn't even interview.
29:43
Speaker 5: Well.
29:43
Speaker 1: Steve Spagnolo, who was dying to become a defensive coordinator
29:47
Speaker 1: after being a position coach for quite some time in Philadelphia,
29:49
Speaker 1: jumped at the chance. It went on and won the
29:52
Speaker 1: Super Bowl. The rest is history. Spag still winning Super
29:54
Speaker 1: Bowls as a coordinator. Dave Canalis in a job search
29:59
Speaker 1: where a lot of folks for saying, yeah, I don't know,
30:01
Speaker 1: not a lot of money being spent. Who is the
30:04
Speaker 1: quarterback even gonna be? Is Todd Bowles gonna be one
30:06
Speaker 1: and done now that Tom Brady's gone and they're kind
30:09
Speaker 1: of unloading day. Canalis ran right into that one and said,
30:12
Speaker 1: I want my opportunity, and he has taking it and
30:14
Speaker 1: the positivity that he brings. If you just follow him
30:17
Speaker 1: on Twitter, you see the positivity that he has. That's
30:19
Speaker 1: what the Buccaneers needed in this type of situation. I
30:21
Speaker 1: think he's done a great job and he's certainly setting
30:23
Speaker 1: himself up to start being on the radar for head
30:26
Speaker 1: coaching jobs in the future, but also keeping this thing
30:29
Speaker 1: moving and keeping this coaching staff moving toward twenty twenty
30:31
Speaker 1: four with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, nobody's firing Todd Bowles anymore.
30:34
Speaker 4: Baker thanks him, He's got Baker Mayfield, Bacon, Mike g awesome,
30:38
Speaker 4: great stuff.
30:38
Speaker 5: Appreciate you.
30:39
Speaker 4: Hope to back here on some more Mondays coming up
30:42
Speaker 4: and will we come back.
30:43
Speaker 5: Oh, always those forty nine they did it again.
30:47
Speaker 4: Is brock Perty the MVP or is Christian McCaffrey the MVP.
30:51
Speaker 4: We have that talk and more with omar Ruiz next
30:54
Speaker 4: on the NFL Report. We're back at the NFL Report
30:57
Speaker 4: and JP. Now we are joined by our guy, oh
31:00
Speaker 4: ar Ruiz, who was at the San Francisco forty nine
31:04
Speaker 4: ers big win over the Arizona Cardinals.
31:06
Speaker 5: When I say it's a big win because.
31:08
Speaker 4: Oh, they won the NFC West as expected.
31:15
Speaker 11: Yeah, back to back championships in that division is interesting
31:19
Speaker 11: because Fred Warner said after the game that last year,
31:21
Speaker 11: when they clinched, he gave a speech to the locker
31:24
Speaker 11: room saying they've got to appreciate these moments.
31:26
Speaker 5: They don't come around that much.
31:28
Speaker 11: And he said he immediately regretted that speech, but he
31:31
Speaker 11: said that should be the standard. The division championship should
31:35
Speaker 11: be the least of their accomplishments every year. So they
31:37
Speaker 11: did it again. It reassured that that commitment. And then
31:41
Speaker 11: Kyle Shanahan I asked him after the game the significance
31:43
Speaker 11: because the forty nine ers have not been shy about
31:45
Speaker 11: their ultimate goal winning a game in Las Vegas in February,
31:49
Speaker 11: of course, but Shanahan said the guys were celebratory in
31:52
Speaker 11: the locker room.
31:53
Speaker 5: He told me it was huge for them.
31:54
Speaker 11: They don't want to lose these moments, milestones along the
31:59
Speaker 11: way to a pre these moments in the season. But
32:02
Speaker 11: certainly as they go forward now the focus gets back
32:05
Speaker 11: to playing those two playoff games at home, making sure
32:07
Speaker 11: they get that buye. Of course, they're in this position
32:10
Speaker 11: because they have those two MVP candidates, Brock Purty and
32:13
Speaker 11: Christian McCaffrey. And after the game, I asked Brought to
32:16
Speaker 11: make a case for Christian McCaffrey as MVP, and he said,
32:20
Speaker 11: Christian McCaffrey should be the MVP because he does everything
32:24
Speaker 11: for us.
32:24
Speaker 5: He runs the.
32:25
Speaker 11: Football like you see him here, he puts his head down,
32:27
Speaker 11: he initiates contact. He's great in blocking the most wide open.
32:31
Speaker 11: He says, he's ever been on this play to backpedal
32:34
Speaker 11: as far as he did, fall his face on the
32:37
Speaker 11: ground and still have time to go into the end
32:39
Speaker 11: zone uncutch. The way he does everything. Perty said, that
32:42
Speaker 11: is how an MVP ought to play. Pretty even commented
32:46
Speaker 11: on his own candidacy. It says it's an honor, but
32:48
Speaker 11: He's just surrounded by a great team, surrounded by guys
32:51
Speaker 11: willing to make plays. He said, the entire team is
32:54
Speaker 11: an MVP. So nothing but good vibes here heading into
32:57
Speaker 11: Baltimore for the San Francisco forty nine ers.
33:01
Speaker 3: They it's at the brakes, nothing but good vibes.
33:02
Speaker 2: No, not when you give up two hundred and thirty
33:04
Speaker 2: four yards on the ground, though, that's not what you
33:07
Speaker 2: want to do, especially when you have the Ravens coming
33:08
Speaker 2: to town next week. What are they saying about what
33:12
Speaker 2: they didn't do defensively that needs to be corrected before
33:15
Speaker 2: this massive game against Baltimore.
33:20
Speaker 11: Really, it's been the last few games I've done a
33:22
Speaker 11: poor job tackling. When you go back to the Philadelphia
33:24
Speaker 11: game and then Seattle last week, and of course yesterday
33:27
Speaker 11: against Arizona, James Connor running wild two hundred and thirty
33:30
Speaker 11: four yards. You mentioned it, James Fred Warner saying that
33:34
Speaker 11: fundamentals tackling were all issues in that game yesterday and
33:38
Speaker 11: something that they will need to get short up. In fact,
33:41
Speaker 11: they scored their first defensive touchdown of the season, and
33:43
Speaker 11: I asked Warner, is that how this defense evolves? Is
33:46
Speaker 11: that how they get better by being an aggressive attacking
33:49
Speaker 11: defense that can now put points on the board, obviously
33:52
Speaker 11: with Tavarius Awards pick six they had yesterday, and Warner
33:54
Speaker 11: told me, no, that doesn't matter if they don't tackle
33:57
Speaker 11: well and they don't play fundamentally sound, so that will
34:00
Speaker 11: be an issue. What I will say though, about the
34:03
Speaker 11: character of this team, the character of the locker room,
34:06
Speaker 11: that not a single mention yesterday that I heard was
34:09
Speaker 11: that they were missing Eric Armstead and Javon Harvey, their
34:12
Speaker 11: two stud defense and tackles on the interiory of that
34:16
Speaker 11: defensive line. They could have made all those excuses with
34:19
Speaker 11: those guys not there. Not only did they not make
34:21
Speaker 11: those excuses, they didn't even mention their absence. So the
34:24
Speaker 11: accountability a big reason why they're so good, not to
34:27
Speaker 11: mention their talent of course.
34:28
Speaker 4: Well, and winning also helps put a salve on any
34:31
Speaker 4: type of flaws in a game like that.
34:33
Speaker 5: Omar, Also, you were at the Colts.
34:35
Speaker 4: You were at the Colts Steelers game on Saturday, and
34:39
Speaker 4: Gardner Minshew, mister Jeordes, let's keep on winning ball games
34:45
Speaker 4: for the Colts. I mean, it's been amazing. He's been
34:47
Speaker 4: in the starting lineup for most of the season. You
34:50
Speaker 4: spoke with him after that big dub that kept them
34:53
Speaker 4: in the playoff chase.
34:54
Speaker 5: What did you have to say.
34:57
Speaker 11: Yeah, we chatted a little while in the locker room
35:00
Speaker 11: before he left for the day, and he said the
35:01
Speaker 11: confidence is riding high, the confidence that he has in
35:04
Speaker 11: his offensive line, especially when you consider they ran the
35:08
Speaker 11: football fourteen straight times against the Steelers to really put
35:12
Speaker 11: that away against the Steelers team that prides itself on
35:15
Speaker 11: physicality and winning in the trenches. So the confidence is there,
35:19
Speaker 11: and the confidence of the locker room is in Gardner Minshew.
35:22
Speaker 11: In fact, I spoke with Zach Moss before the game.
35:24
Speaker 11: He said he's had confidence in Gardner Minshew since they
35:27
Speaker 11: were in college. And Gardner Minshew put about four hundred
35:30
Speaker 11: and fifty yards on Moss's Utah team accounted for four touchdowns,
35:34
Speaker 11: So they have the confidence there. And I asked Minshew
35:37
Speaker 11: about how good this team can be, because I think
35:40
Speaker 11: the storyline of this season is that the Colts are tough,
35:43
Speaker 11: they're gritty, but let's not lose sight. They have a
35:46
Speaker 11: lot of talent on that team. And Minshew told me
35:48
Speaker 11: that they're still figuring out how good they can be.
35:50
Speaker 11: They're still figuring out what guys do best, and that
35:53
Speaker 11: gives them a lot of hope down the stretch here
35:55
Speaker 11: the last three games of the season, still in that
35:57
Speaker 11: playoff positioning, still at eight and six, and if they
36:00
Speaker 11: can reach that maximum height to where this Colts team
36:04
Speaker 11: can go, they'll be in a good position down the
36:06
Speaker 11: stretch here.
36:09
Speaker 2: I don't want to speak out of turn guys, but
36:11
Speaker 2: there could be an argument, honestly, mate, that Shane Steikens
36:17
Speaker 2: really moved to bring Gardner Minshew with him from Philadelphia
36:20
Speaker 2: to Indianapolis was one of the biggest, if not biggest
36:24
Speaker 2: free agent signings of this offseason. It's because of where
36:27
Speaker 2: the Colts are and I don't know if they would
36:29
Speaker 2: be there without Gardner Minshew and without Shane Styking knowing
36:32
Speaker 2: his quarterback and knowing how to use him to his strengths. Oh,
36:36
Speaker 2: like you're talking about with Shane knowing so much about
36:38
Speaker 2: these guys on this roster and playing to their strength.
36:41
Speaker 2: So with that said, and I mentioned Shane steiken who
36:43
Speaker 2: is heavily in the conversation for Coach of the Year
36:46
Speaker 2: with what he's doing. You had a conversation with him
36:49
Speaker 2: before this game started, and I'm not interesting that he's
36:52
Speaker 2: been challenging this team in certain ways.
36:57
Speaker 11: Yeah, when you talk about this team and it's confident
37:00
Speaker 11: down this stretch, it's really because they've been in this
37:03
Speaker 11: fight or flight mode all season long and early in
37:06
Speaker 11: the year. I asked Shane steichen Or on Saturday before
37:09
Speaker 11: the game. I asked him how he's been getting this
37:11
Speaker 11: team to believe in itself. They're in the playoff thick
37:14
Speaker 11: of the race, not just in the race, but actually
37:16
Speaker 11: in playoff positioning. And he said, you know, with all
37:19
Speaker 11: the stuff that they've faced, Anthony Richardson, their star rookie
37:21
Speaker 11: quarterback getting hurt, Jonathan Taylor missing half the year, he
37:24
Speaker 11: challenged them, who are you in the face of adversity?
37:28
Speaker 11: And he says, they've responded all year long, and we
37:31
Speaker 11: saw that on display certainly on Saturday. They had Michael Pittman,
37:34
Speaker 11: their star receiver, go down. Zach Moss, who's had a
37:37
Speaker 11: great year behind Jonathan Taylor, he went down. They had
37:40
Speaker 11: guys from the practice squad like Tyler Goodson step up
37:44
Speaker 11: and average better than six yards of Cary DJ Montgomery,
37:47
Speaker 11: who's rarely played, drops a touchdown in the end zone,
37:50
Speaker 11: then comes back and scores a touchdown. So it's all
37:53
Speaker 11: part of the culture that Shane Steiken has established. Their
37:56
Speaker 11: multiple players in the locker room talking about the energy
37:59
Speaker 11: that he's infused into that building. They've responded, they're believing
38:03
Speaker 11: in themselves. And I think Zayir Franklin said it best
38:05
Speaker 11: when we're talking about the talent on this team. Of course,
38:08
Speaker 11: are Franklin leads the National Football League and tackles. They
38:11
Speaker 11: still have Kenny Moore, who's many considered to be the
38:14
Speaker 11: best nickel corner in football. To Forrest Buckner obviously has
38:16
Speaker 11: been great his entire career along the defensive line.
38:19
Speaker 5: And Franklin said, a lot.
38:21
Speaker 11: Of people, because we had a bad year last season,
38:23
Speaker 11: threw us in the trash. Those were his words, and
38:26
Speaker 11: he said, now we know we have the talent on
38:28
Speaker 11: this team, we have the belief, we have the culture,
38:31
Speaker 11: and so because they've been in fight or flight mode,
38:33
Speaker 11: they feel like they've been in that playoff environment. So
38:36
Speaker 11: down the stretch here, in these critical three remaining games,
38:39
Speaker 11: they all have the confidence to try to play their
38:41
Speaker 11: way into the postseason.
38:44
Speaker 2: Well, another man's trash is Shane Steiken's treasure. It is
38:48
Speaker 2: uh Omar as he has turned something into these Indianapolis Colts,
38:52
Speaker 2: and you look at what he's doing, and you look
38:53
Speaker 2: at what Jonathan Gannon's doing. As we talked about what
38:56
Speaker 2: the Cardinals did and how physical and how hard they
38:59
Speaker 2: played against the forty nine Ers. Those are two really
39:02
Speaker 2: good coaches that walked out the door in Philadelphia this
39:04
Speaker 2: past year.
39:04
Speaker 3: We know that Eagles are missing, honestly, both of them
39:07
Speaker 3: quite a bit.
39:07
Speaker 2: Omar appreciated as always inside. Omar was in the house, Steve,
39:11
Speaker 2: he was in the house. He does this weekend double depth.
39:14
Speaker 2: It was phenomenal. We're gonna have Jeff Chedeah with his
39:19
Speaker 2: first read column and we're gonna talk about the Chargers
39:22
Speaker 2: a little bit because the Raiders did something to the
39:24
Speaker 2: Chargers on Thursday that obviously led to them parting ways
39:27
Speaker 2: with Tom Tolesco and with Brandon Staley. What's next for
39:31
Speaker 2: the Chargers and maybe some other coaching discussions with Jeff
39:34
Speaker 2: Jedia coming up next in the NFL report, o'conna.
39:37
Speaker 5: Up the first town gonna throw.
39:38
Speaker 4: He had old Dad Receivers Raiders in Controller.
39:47
Speaker 5: The first.
39:51
Speaker 4: Oh, you've heard the radio call of the Raiders absolute
39:54
Speaker 4: dismantling the Chargers last Thursday and James. We are joined
39:59
Speaker 4: by Jeff Shedia for his weekly Monday Appearances First Read
40:02
Speaker 4: column NFL dot Com slash First Read and Jeff, one
40:06
Speaker 4: thing before we get to the Raiders, and I really
40:08
Speaker 4: love this column is you talked about these teams on
40:11
Speaker 4: the fringe of the playoffs, not the teams that are
40:14
Speaker 4: in the top seven slots.
40:16
Speaker 5: And I'd love to start off.
40:17
Speaker 4: With your first team rights there the Houston Texans, who
40:21
Speaker 4: got a big win this week with Case Keenum coming
40:24
Speaker 4: in for the injured CJ.
40:25
Speaker 5: Shroud and their hopes moving forward.
40:29
Speaker 9: Yeah, you know, look, I gave a reason for hope
40:32
Speaker 9: for every team that's on the bubble or in the hunt,
40:34
Speaker 9: and for them, I went with culture because I think
40:36
Speaker 9: they get short change with what they've done down there
40:38
Speaker 9: with Jmiko Ryans and Nick Casario.
40:41
Speaker 7: And it's all about J.
40:43
Speaker 5: Stroud.
40:43
Speaker 9: I know he's been a great pick, but.
40:45
Speaker 3: He wasn't there yesterday.
40:46
Speaker 9: They had to get a big win being on Case Keenum. Obviously,
40:49
Speaker 9: Johnthan Greenhard has been a great player for them this year,
40:51
Speaker 9: Stephen Nelson's may plays. They found ways to get a
40:54
Speaker 9: lot some huge contributions from guys we didn't talk much
40:57
Speaker 9: about it, didn't know much about and.
40:59
Speaker 3: That says a lot about what they built as far
41:00
Speaker 3: as culture.
41:01
Speaker 9: So I'm really encouraged about their opportunity here because one,
41:05
Speaker 9: as I said, they've got guys who want to win
41:07
Speaker 9: and know how to win, but they're also playing in division.
41:10
Speaker 9: Now it's getting really interesting because Jacksonville's falling back to
41:12
Speaker 9: the pack. The Colts are in there. Everybody's eight and six,
41:15
Speaker 9: everybody's got a shot now.
41:18
Speaker 2: I keep hearing how prepared this team is when I
41:21
Speaker 2: talk to players on both sides of ball, it's phenomenal.
41:23
Speaker 2: I love that you mentioned Jonathan Gernard too. He's got
41:24
Speaker 2: twelve and a half sacks this year. He's like, he's
41:27
Speaker 2: been phenomenal. Opposite of Will Anderson. Let's go down two spots,
41:31
Speaker 2: Jeff to the Steelers, and I love your reason for hope.
41:34
Speaker 2: Mike Tomlin's track record, and it is a remarkable track record.
41:38
Speaker 3: We know it.
41:38
Speaker 2: He's never had a losing season in his career, but
41:41
Speaker 2: a track record is a track record till.
41:43
Speaker 3: It isn't anymore. Could this be the year? Is that? Really?
41:47
Speaker 2: What they're relying on is that Mike Tomlin's done it
41:49
Speaker 2: in the past, So that's gonna hopefully wiel them into it.
41:52
Speaker 3: With the roster they have now.
41:54
Speaker 9: Yeah, well, it's not gonna be effort from his receivers,
41:57
Speaker 9: because it's gonna have to be He's got to be
42:03
Speaker 9: cracking from up high right now to make it work.
42:06
Speaker 9: And if he makes it work, you'll be a great accomplishment.
42:09
Speaker 9: I remember this team a couple of years ago when
42:10
Speaker 9: Ben Roethlisberger at the end of his run, and I thought, man,
42:13
Speaker 9: how that teamed me out in the playoffs of what
42:15
Speaker 9: they had going. They were seven seven and one with
42:17
Speaker 9: two games ago, and they found a way to get in.
42:20
Speaker 9: This team's kind of the same boat. Just they're not
42:22
Speaker 9: very talented on offense. They're they're limited as far as
42:25
Speaker 9: skilled players are. Playing with a third string quarterback now,
42:28
Speaker 9: Mason Rudolph. The defense hadn't been what we've grown accustomed
42:31
Speaker 9: to in Pittsburgh, and it's just it's been that way
42:34
Speaker 9: all year long. So yeah, I think Mike Tomlin being
42:36
Speaker 9: able to get this team just to be in this
42:38
Speaker 9: position has been amazing. But if he's able to get
42:41
Speaker 9: them a couple more wins out of it, given the
42:42
Speaker 9: way they've been going, I would say that's been the
42:44
Speaker 9: best coaching's always ever done in his life.
42:46
Speaker 4: What's gonna be awesome is we get the transactions today
42:48
Speaker 4: and they're signing a new quarterback to the practice squad
42:51
Speaker 4: named track Record. But Jeff, you know you mentioned Mike
42:58
Speaker 4: Tomlin and then this is intriguing to me because we
43:01
Speaker 4: hear it every other year ourselves, like it's time for Mike.
43:04
Speaker 5: It's time for him to go? Is it time?
43:08
Speaker 4: Because like you said, you got wide receivers not given effort.
43:12
Speaker 5: This offense is in shambles. I mean they've already had
43:15
Speaker 5: to make a move at coordinator. I don't think it's time.
43:18
Speaker 5: I think maybe he changes some things personnel wise and
43:21
Speaker 5: coordinator wise.
43:22
Speaker 4: But if they let him go, Mike Toallin would be
43:25
Speaker 4: the fastest coach hired this offseason in my opinion.
43:28
Speaker 9: It would be like Andy re when he left Philadelphia
43:31
Speaker 9: and wound up with a Chiefs. It would be that
43:33
Speaker 9: level of quickness as far as getting hiring and the
43:35
Speaker 9: potential for the next team to be that successful moving forward. Yeah,
43:39
Speaker 9: it's for my money. He's one of the best coaches
43:41
Speaker 9: in NFL history. He's a Hall of Famer, and we
43:44
Speaker 9: know that organization is not going to get rid of
43:46
Speaker 9: Mike Towllin on a whim. It would have to be.
43:49
Speaker 9: It would have to be where Bill Beltzic sat with
43:51
Speaker 9: the Patriots for it to be at that level where
43:52
Speaker 9: you could no confidently talk about that kind of a conversation.
43:56
Speaker 9: I think he's going through a transition. They've got a
43:59
Speaker 9: lot of young players. You know, Hines Ward told me
44:02
Speaker 9: this a long time ago about the Steelers. When they
44:04
Speaker 9: don't run the football, well, they're not playing good defense.
44:07
Speaker 9: They're a different team. They got to get back to
44:09
Speaker 9: building that offensive lineup. They gotta get back to playing
44:11
Speaker 9: great defense. They gotta find skilled players who want to
44:14
Speaker 9: be there and want to play hard. I think it's
44:17
Speaker 9: not that hard of a fix. But one thing I
44:19
Speaker 9: don't question whether Mike Tompsion is the right gut to
44:21
Speaker 9: be there to fix it.
44:24
Speaker 2: Yeah, And I think we're all gonna look this offseason
44:27
Speaker 2: right at Pittsburgh and go, all right, who is he
44:29
Speaker 2: picking to run that offense that you're describing, Jeff right
44:32
Speaker 2: Who does he bring in as that offensive coordinator. That's
44:35
Speaker 2: gonna be the thing I think that everybody's going to
44:37
Speaker 2: evaluate in terms of turning this thing around. Because I
44:39
Speaker 2: agree with you in your stance on Mike Tomlin now
44:41
Speaker 2: a coach that won't say is not on the hot
44:44
Speaker 2: seat because the seat's gone down at the bottom of
44:47
Speaker 2: your college.
44:47
Speaker 3: You said, the biggest surprise of the week was the
44:51
Speaker 3: last game.
44:51
Speaker 2: For Brandon Staley and the Chargers on that Thursday night
44:54
Speaker 2: and what the Raiders did to them. I kind of
44:56
Speaker 2: want to push this forward because that was you know,
44:59
Speaker 2: that was again none of us saw coming after what
45:01
Speaker 2: the Raiders did the previous week and couldn't Where do
45:04
Speaker 2: they go with this coach coaching search? You think in
45:07
Speaker 2: your opinion, Jeff, because this we talked about talent and
45:09
Speaker 2: lack thereof. This team has talent and it has a core.
45:13
Speaker 9: I think one thing that was really interesting we're intriguing
45:16
Speaker 9: about the move, not just the vire brains Taily, but
45:18
Speaker 9: to fire your own manager Tom to LESCo, was that
45:22
Speaker 9: opened the door to getting a very high profile, high
45:26
Speaker 9: maintenance and coach. You know, I've heard talk about Bill
45:29
Speaker 9: Belichick being in the COUNDA. There's people who said, yeah,
45:32
Speaker 9: I mean that's the thing. You thought, there's no way
45:35
Speaker 9: you could wind up there because they already have a GM.
45:38
Speaker 5: They don't anymore, and they've.
45:39
Speaker 9: Invited the opportunity for the next coach to pickings GM
45:42
Speaker 9: to have GM powers. Jim Harbaugh was the guy who
45:45
Speaker 9: I joked about earlier this year to be in that running.
45:48
Speaker 9: I think he wants to have those kind of powers.
45:50
Speaker 9: I think now that door opens to him. I think
45:52
Speaker 9: they're going to just take a like the assistant of
45:55
Speaker 9: the flavor of the month type assistant, like a Ben Johnson. Now,
45:58
Speaker 9: I think it's going to be a big cause. You
46:00
Speaker 9: think about the division. Now got Andy Reid, you got
46:03
Speaker 9: Sean Payton, you want to play ball with some of
46:05
Speaker 9: these guys, you better have somebody who knows how to
46:07
Speaker 9: win championships you're building.
46:09
Speaker 4: Yeah, that's gonna be real interesting if they get a
46:12
Speaker 4: CEO type to come in here and do that, because
46:16
Speaker 4: you know, when you look at some of the things,
46:18
Speaker 4: you know.
46:18
Speaker 5: They had to report.
46:18
Speaker 4: Ian Ian had a report in RAPWAD Report this week
46:21
Speaker 4: that Dan Quinn could be a possibility.
46:23
Speaker 5: And we know that when you talk to people in Dallas.
46:26
Speaker 4: He is that culture dude. He's the one who's got
46:28
Speaker 4: everybody playing. He can keep Kellen Moore as the OC
46:30
Speaker 4: for continuity with me, right, But this charger's job is
46:33
Speaker 4: going to be the one that people want because of
46:38
Speaker 4: Justin Herbert. I know you said a CEO type is
46:42
Speaker 4: a possibility, but why not a Ben Johnson. Why not
46:45
Speaker 4: somebody who can scheme up stuff? With an Andy Reid
46:48
Speaker 4: and with a Sean Payton. That seems like somebody like
46:52
Speaker 4: they would want more of instead of the.
46:53
Speaker 5: CEO type, which to be very uncharger like.
46:56
Speaker 9: By the way, well, I think if you're going to
46:58
Speaker 9: go that route, you already got a guy in your building,
47:01
Speaker 9: and Kellen Moore who fits the description right. You know,
47:03
Speaker 9: he's got that offensive background.
47:06
Speaker 3: He was a sexy name a year or two ago.
47:08
Speaker 5: So if you wanted to go that right, you could
47:10
Speaker 5: go that way.
47:11
Speaker 3: But they also come.
47:11
Speaker 9: Look in their own division and see, well, wasn't Josh
47:13
Speaker 9: mcdane's supposed to be that with the Raiders and.
47:16
Speaker 3: We saw how that worked out.
47:17
Speaker 9: I mean, it's because you're a great play caller, that
47:20
Speaker 9: doesn't mean you're gonna be a great head coach. And
47:22
Speaker 9: I don't know if they can afford to take that
47:24
Speaker 9: chance anymore with Justin Herbert there. I mean, ultimately, you
47:27
Speaker 9: have to have somebody who can come in and not
47:29
Speaker 9: just help him as a quarterback, but helped build a
47:31
Speaker 9: team around him that.
47:32
Speaker 3: Wants to play.
47:34
Speaker 9: It helps him elevate himself into that conversation with Josh
47:38
Speaker 9: Allen's the Lamar Jackson, the Patrick Mahomes as the other
47:41
Speaker 9: great young quarterbacks of Joe Burrow. Because he's not there
47:43
Speaker 9: yet and somebody's got to help.
47:45
Speaker 5: Him get there.
47:47
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's the biggest part. And when Steve said that,
47:50
Speaker 2: be very unchargers, like because the last several coaches have
47:53
Speaker 2: been what first time head coaches there and they've had
47:56
Speaker 2: the younger route. And now I do look at what
47:59
Speaker 2: Jeff's saying, because I mentioned the core, it's also a
48:02
Speaker 2: core that has talent but has injury issues and probably
48:05
Speaker 2: some decisions you're gonna have to make about a couple
48:07
Speaker 2: of those players, excluding Justin Herbert obviously, but those other guys,
48:11
Speaker 2: you have some thoughts that you have to make in
48:13
Speaker 2: terms of what their future is with or without the tamais.
48:15
Speaker 2: They're all getting a little bit older too, Like if
48:17
Speaker 2: you look at where they're at in terms of age.
48:20
Speaker 3: Jeff, this is a great column.
48:21
Speaker 2: This is one of my favorite ones, honestly, because I
48:24
Speaker 2: hope you know that's what the s on the chest
48:27
Speaker 2: is for for Superman, for Hope, I love.
48:30
Speaker 3: I look at you putting your DC now is there.
48:34
Speaker 5: Now?
48:35
Speaker 3: I stole that from Gerald McCoy on Game day morning.
48:37
Speaker 3: I was just waiting for my head.
48:39
Speaker 4: Hey all right, Jeff, appreciate you. We have got to
48:42
Speaker 4: get out of here. If you're watching us, you know
48:44
Speaker 4: where to find us. But every Monday and Thursday seven
48:48
Speaker 4: seven fifteen pm Eastern Time on the NFL app Broku
48:52
Speaker 4: to be Pluto on the NFL channel. Also listen to
48:55
Speaker 4: the podcast JP we.
48:57
Speaker 5: Gotta get out of Here, another great show.
48:59
Speaker 4: We want to think our special guests, including Justin Jefferson,
49:03
Speaker 4: and we will catch you on Thursday seven point fifteen
49:07
Speaker 4: pm once again on the NFL Report