10.28: Rose from the Dead - Hour 2

what I mean. But we were there Friday for a game day because obviously Louisville and Boston College for a Friday night game that obviously didn't look good early, but a strong finish and a finish that I hope can really ignite this team in these last four games.

You know, that's I think most people go into these kind of games knowing that the host, right the Division I program usually is going to end up winning by a large margin, and it's just a good experience for everybody involved. You get a chance to if your Louisville go up against a different team than your own team

every day, like you do every day in practice. And then for Spaulding, you know, you get a chance to, you know, play against a really good team, probably a team that's going to be insanely better than anybody else should play at that level of basketball throughout the season, and you probably get a good check on the way. I don't know what it pays to come in and play Louisville basketball on an exhibition, but I'm sure there's some type of a paycheck they're going to get on

the way out. So tonight we will have postgame coverage as soon as it ends. We'll go live right here on Sports Talk seven ninety for the Louisville Basketball postgame Show. Hopefully we can hear from you guys and react to whatever it is that happens. I would imagine we'll be really doing the same postgame show as we did last Monday, which was Wow, that was awesome. This team's fun is

hell to watch. They've got shooters all over the floor, and I forgot what it was like to watch your team dominate an exhibition opponent because it's been a while. I'm sure there'll be some other takeaways from there, and we'll get to this a little bit later on. There are a couple of things that you know, I wouldn't even say nitpicking, because if you say nitpicking, it actually

is acting like you're being critical. I don't think there's really anything to take from the first exhibition game, and probably not tonight either. That's going to be like, hmm, I noticed this, we must be in really good shape here, or hmm, this looked a little questionable. Maybe we like you just don't know. I mean, you could try to say you're learning some things about your team in these games, but you're not. And it's nobody's fault that that's just

the reality of it. But a couple of things that I that I would imagine will be a little different tonight compared to what we saw last week. I'll get to that coming up a little bit later on. But again, it's coffee and company, and we are feel about Thornton's here on Sports Talk seven ninety. Don't forget you could take us with you wherever you go. Listen live on the iHeart Radio app. Listen live at seven ninety Louisville dot com. And if you want to join us on

the show, phone lines are open. I just realized I don't even have my call screener up here, So if you guys want to give us a call again, five h two five to seven nine hundred again five O two five seven seventy nine hundred. So a very full postgame show on Friday night, full lines throughout a lot of people, you know, kind of and this is what

I love about the postgame shows. Whenever you have a you have a game playout, I mean, it's probably not good for the show because I feel like each time we start, I'm kind of just rambling trying to kind of form my overall opinion on what just happened, because it's so raw and in real time, like you know, usually what happens is if I'm doing the postgame show from my house, I watched the final snap and then I come downstairs and turn on the equipment and we roll.

But the first few callers were essentially pleased with the way they were able to come back and win, and you were feeling good that you avoided what would have been your first bad loss of the season. But then you know, there's a lot of clear there's issues still with this team, you know, And they played much better after that twenty to nothing deficiting Clearly they played much

better in the second half. The defense was so much better in the second half, so like all those things are positives, but then you still see, like, you know, Tyler Shuck, who's been great all year, he actually for the first time he made some bone headed decisions that

you just aren't used to. And it was like in the first half when they're down twenty to noth and you got the interception from Shock and then you got the fumble from Amari Huggins Bruce two veterans, it just hit me that that's who this team is, and maybe they are like, maybe we'll get to the end of the year and say, yeah, you should expect one of those types of plays every week, but I'm hopeful that the way in which they and look, sometimes it's just an other team making a play, or you can chock

it up as bad luck, But when you've played as many games as Louisville has this year and you've had this many big mistakes and the way Jeff, I mean, Jeff just called him mistakes when he was talking about it on the broadcast the other night. But today in his press conference he mentioned, you know, we keep shooting

ourselves in the foot. So look, if you've played eight games and you've shot yourself on the foot the way Louisville has consistently, Like again, doesn't mean you can't clean it up and fix it, but like, that's your identity, that's who you are. And they were still bad on Saturday until towards the end of the game, and there was one thing that happened late that I got really really like when he decided to throw And again, it's one of those things where if Jeff completes that, like,

well he's not playing. So if Shuck was able to complete that pass too, I think it was Brooks and the ball hit him in his hands decently defended, But like, I don't think Jeff used it this way, but he could actually sit back and say, look, I called a play that they weren't expecting third and short. They probably think we're just gonna run the ball, kill as much clock as we can make them call their last time out or call another time out of whatever it is.

But you know, it didn't work because they dropped the ball. Like it's just a it's not worth the risk because to be fair, he's right, like he did call a play that would to work, should have worked had had Ja Cory Brooks held on the ball. And again, I think defense was decent there. But like I I was starting to kind of come around to like, here we go.

They're playing, even though it's not against a great competition, they're playing some really good football right now, and they're looking like they're I mean, they're bouncing around, they've got some swagger about themselves. They've got some confidence about themselves

that a way really haven't seen all year. So you know, as soon as I'm starting to think, okay, like maybe we have turned the corner here if we if we can hold on and win, and then whenever they decided to, when Jeff decided to throw the ball instead of run it there and it gave Boston College a bunch of opportunities to potentially break our hearts with you know, a late hill Mary or something. I just you know, it would have been it would have been tough. But at

the end, they didn't happen. And I think throughout the year for Louisville football, the overall result when it comes to the losses, has not been devastating, has not been oh my god, we we better sound the alarm. We got big problems here because you know, you're not losing to bad teams and you have chances late to win. So it's not like the result. Hey, you lost by a score at Notre Dame, you lost by a score

to Miami, you lost by a score to SMU. Those aren't like positives, but the overall result, meaning the loss to those teams and how it and you know how it played out, nobody's looking at you and thinking, oh man, that's it embarrassing loss. I mean maybe some people are, but like, all three of these teams are top twenty teams right now. So I think we had the same you'll hear me out, I'll make sense and we'll get

to the phone calls in just a second. But I think we had a similar scenario on Friday against Boston College it's just reversed. Meaning yeah, I'm not gonna act like it's the end of the world because you lost

in South Bend by a score. But come on, let's think about what you had to do to even give Notre Dame the lead that they had with just snapping the ball over the punter's head, chuck running for fifty yards, then coughing it up to Corey Brooks balls in his hands and then he just pops out and they get an interception. Take it the other way, like, you had so many crucial mistakes that you feel like you take just one of those away, Like I felt like we were gonna be able to say at that point that

was the flukey loss. Go back and look at all the mistakes the over may But then again, you know, same thing with Miami and SMU And again, these aren't terrible losses, but it's the fact that they keep shooting themselves in the foot that you know, made it so fresh. Trading the result by beating Boston College where you did not cover the spread, that's not a big result that we should be super happy about because again, you did

what you're supposed to do. In fact, you didn't and when it comes to those that set the lines you didn't cover. I mean, I don't care about that. I'm as happy they won. But my point is, like I think the Loisle fans are feeling really good about themselves right now, or maybe Louisville players, I should say, And I get it. It's because it's not the result itself, it's everything that came with it. It's everything that transpired.

And I think to be down twenty to nothing and these guys, you know, not quit keep fighting and find a way to win internally, if they choose, they can really use this as a big piece. It's the foundation piece essentially for you to finish strong this year. Doesn't mean you can you know, you're guaranteed to go be Clemson.

But like, if this Louisville team stops shooting themselves in the foot as much as they have this year Jeff Brahm's words myself meaning that's how he describes it, shooting themselves in the foot, like they would have a better record. Like because again it sounds crazy, you are what you're record says you are. But I think this team's good. They just make stupid mistakes at times, and nobody's perfect.

But man, let's not act like Louisville hasn't seemingly made bigger, bone headed mistakes that have had an impact in how these things, how some of these games have finished?

really good NAI team. But I mean, who would you want to play like instead of Spaulding, Like I you know, I think given the circumstances and given the last two exhibition seasons when you played like I kind of get while they're playing them this year.

and I don't know what their percentage. They filled it up many. They got shooters everywhere, So I don't know if that's a new thing across the country. Uh the word, You're gonna have to have a ton of three point shooters to get deep in the tournament. But it seems like the games I've watched, everybody's shooting the hell out

of the ball. It's really interesting. I heard Indiana did not shoot it well yesterday, which doesn't break my heart because I really want to beat them that game, you know, I mean, Woodson's deep into his tenure, what four or five years in Kelsey's brand new. I would love to see us paym you know, kick kick them, you know, I want to. I want to win that game bad. But but anyway, I'm just I'm just down on this faulding game. I just I shake my head at it.

You know, I look at it too, like, you know, what what if we what if we come out of the game a game like that with a dag on injury, you know what, what have we really what have we gained? And I don't see any game for us at all, even when you win by fifty or sixty or eighty or whatever. I just think it's a wasted day. In my opinion. I think you'd be better off practicing.

consistently the last two years. But you know, Jerry and I are a lot alike when it comes to certain things. I don't know if he feels that way, but like, you know, you've got the you got one talking head on one shoulder and the other on the other side, and one's like the good and the bad. One's the pessimist, one's the optimist. You know, Jerry hits my optimistic or I'm sorry, my pessimistic side in a major way because like everything he laid out, I totally like agree with.

But then I thought, okay, well, let's be let's be grateful. Let's be grateful for the fact that we're no longer in a position to where we'd have to worry about losing these games. Now the injury thing. Look, you could look if Louisville played Duke tonight in a in a charity exhibition game and somebody got hurt, the same Thingking Be said, because it doesn't count no matter who you're playing. These games aren't real. They do not do anything for

you as far as you know. Wins and losses, resume record, that kind of stuff. So the injury thing, like, you could say that about anything, but you are right, like, I don't know how much you really gain by beating a team like this by fifty or sixty.

takes on Morehead State at the UMP Center. Again a real game then, but Morehead State is going to be miles and miles better than everybody you have played competitively up to this point, including the exhibitions in the Bahamas and these two exhibition opponents here in the last couple of weeks, so you know, you got to be ready to make that big step up. But look, I actually think what Jerry said is not off like you know,

but I have no put it this way. I'm jealous that that other teams are getting these exhibitions against legitimate teams that you know, they're getting a chance to early on see where their team stacks up. However, you know, as far as these exhibitions that are scheduled but you know are part of your schedule every year, like you really can't gain a whole lot in any of them.

I mean again, like Louisville lost these games last year like, so whoever they bring in in the first year post Kenny Payne, I don't care if they bring in Seneca High School and let Louisville beat them up, just so we can finally say we went through too. Because A there's not a D two nai school out there as far as exhibition that you would say, Okay, that's a good tune up for us. It would have to be one of these charity exhibitions. And I don't know why

Louisville isn't in one. But if they ever do want to take part of these moving forward, I think it'd be awesome. The more basketball we get around here, the happier we are. All right, let's go to Dave. Dave, you are on Sports Talk seven ninety. How we doing this afternoon, sir?

is coaching these guys? Do they just not know what to do? Or is he just giving him bad instruction matters because before the seasons, Dirty Place was bragging a man, how great that cornerbacks was, Well you have to see that.

Boston College had a receiver that could just go make a play on you, Like, No, you're putting these guys out there and they don't know what the hell they're doing. And at the end of the day, that's on your that's you. That's your job as the defensive coordinator to make sure that they know what the plan is and they execute. Now, if they get out there and they don't make plays and they're in the position to do so, then it's more so on them. But yeah, I mean

the defense finished strong. But yes, you're right. I mean the two scores the Boston College have you're thinking, like, how in the world does that happen?

be tough for you to come back. I mean I thought that there was really no chance they could win. Not just because like, hey, Boston College is so good and Louisville is so terrible. But again, just look at the circumstances.

I mean again, Boston College scored at the beginning of the third quarter. After that, four punts and two turnovers on two tod they turned it over on down twice, like the defense really stepped up. And again, I know Boston College didn't great, trust me, but still for these guys to in that situation be able to find a way to get it done doesn't mean they're great. Doesn't mean we may not see the same sloppy team in Clemson this weekend. But I'm choosing to view this, and

I hope they do as well. Not that I'm here to like give them great advice and they should listen to me, but I kind of felt like they came together as a team that night with that comeback, and as I said a moment ago, throughout the year, your results themselves have not been alarming in.

can be a positive sign for this group. The losses weren't something we got to lose our mind about, but the way they did it, with the multiple mistakes, it's just it was, you know, it's frustrating, But they got Clemson on Saturday, and we'll find out pretty quickly if they really really did grow and you know, kind of come together overall from that comeback performance against Boston College.

Now that didn't mean if they play well or guaranteed to win, but wouldn't be shocked if they do, because again, I think loul was a good team. The record doesn't back me up necessarily, but I've seen enough to where I feel like if they do clean some things up, like I like this team, all right, quick break, We'll come back on the other side, keep it rolling along. It's Coffee and company. Feel about Thornton's right here on

Sports Talk seven ninety. I feel like we went back to, uh, we went back to not really knowing what the hell

to expect in the NFL. I mean, I thought the early part of the season, and it is still relatively early in the NFL season, but like early on, like it was good, it was tough to know who was decent, who was average, who was terrible, who was elite, And then it kind of started even out a little bit to where I think heading into this past NFL week, which I guess concludes tonight with a Monday night football game, that we started to get a little bit more of

an idea of Okay, here's who we know is really bad, here's who we know is probably pretty good. And then you got a bunch of teams that are kind of right there in the middle. But some results from yesterday. I mean the Rams beating the Vice that was of course on Thursday, that was not expected. I mean the Browns, I mean, maybe they just are much better without Deshaun Watson.

Jameis Winston is preaching before and after the game and going out there and leading his team to a victory over Lamar and the Ravens.

You know, easier said than done, Like you know they had the ability to do that, but you do want to mess around, like you starting oh to two with losses to one was the Chiefs, which of course isn't a bad loss, but that's now, it works, right, there's no strength to schedule in the NFL. You win or you lose, that's it. But the loss to the Ravens was or sorry, the Raiders was a real head scratcher. And then you know that's just the loss you want to avoid if you're Baltimore, because you are going to

play much better teams than Cleveland. But I give Cleveland a lot of credit. I mean, Jameis Winston is like a he's like a movie character, like he he and I say this sincerely. I didn't want to say yesterday because you know, he's funny to me, but like you know, he's not a threat to Lamar Jackson. Lamar Jackson's best quarterback, best player in the NFL right now, I think, and

yesterday didn't change that. But I didn't know if it'd be a good look if I was, you know, talking about how funny Jameis Winston is as he's given Lamar and the Ravens a tough loss, but like he needs to be a professional wrestler after he gets tim playing

football just to work the mic. I mean, I know you don't watch wrestling a lot a lot, John or maybe ever, but like Jamis just doing Jamis stuff is really funny and entertaining, and like, I just thought he was going to be in the league forever because he's good energy, good positive guy, basically like the team preacher. And sometimes he's got a real good message that he wants to share with people. And apparently he's like a really really easy guy to like. He and he's shown

that in recent years. But you know, for him to actually go out and play really good twenty seven to forty one three three four yards and three touchdowns, Like what if he did become like this great quarterback moving forward and the Browns would have gone from having one proven backup that should have been the starter that they

shouldn't have got rid of. That's Joe Flacco, which I'll get to him in a moment, and then it's Jamis backing up Deshaun Watson, and Deshaun Watson stunk since he's been in Cleveland, Like he's not like take away the fact that the guy cannot you know, cannot mean he can't go a week without somebody coming from years behind, from you know, years later saying he was inappropriate with them getting a massage, and then you know he just I mean, the guy's addicted to happy endings in a

bad way to where you know he's seems like a real scumbag. But like even when he was in Cleveland dealing with the off the field stuff, he's stunk, He wasn't good, but they invested so much money in him, it's like, hey, he's our guy. Well, now you know he's out for the year, And like, if Jameis Winston ends up, I mean, here up aut it this way? I don't even I don't know what the exit strategy is for Cleveland and with that contract, because it's just

one of the worst contracts. She may be the worst contract ever in the history of sports. But even if you know, you gotta cut your losses, like you can't keep rolling that guy, even if he's healthy next year. You can't roll him out there again and expect your franchise to like continue to support you.

Oh and then you lose to a winless Jacksonville Jaguars team. That's the only result that could have kept you out of the playoff playoffs two years ago.

he has, Like, that's impressive. There probably aren't many people walking this planet that are as gifted athletically and physically as Anthony Richardson. Doesn't make him a good football player, doesn't make him a good quarterback.

But like, regardless of what his salary is, let's be honest, the Colts don't get many picks that are that early, and this is who they chose, and it was a terrible decision. And I mean I want him to tank and try again and go get a quarterback once more, Like why not? It's such an important position, and this guy, like you're throwing him out there and he's not ready and like I don't know. I mean, yeah, he's gonna get some experience. He's essentially cutting his teeth as a quarterback.

But does anybody see anything that tells you this guy's going to be able to lead you to a deep playoff run anytime in the next five years or something. Look again, I know a lot can change, but you don't get too the NFL and start as a quarterback and it's all about potential, Like I thought, the NFL

was about needing to win. And it would have made more sense if they drafted this guy and they were not pressured into playing him right away, and if they were comfortable using a guy like Flacco or Minshew for two years straight and then seeing if this guy is able to cut his teeth, because he's the one guy that like he has never had any experience as a quarterback from high school level on, or he has been

successful at that job. Now he has that job for an NFL franchise, and he can carry himself any certain way. He seems likable. How can you have confidence in your ability to be good at a job that you've never been good at at any level? Like that explains why, Like he's never been a part of a team that is good because of his quarterback play, which is why

you end up with your second year quarterback. There was a top five pick for you saying he took himself out of the game in the third quarter because he was tired.

And again, I just I wish they would. You know, I don't know if it's because of the market that they're in, but both my Pacers and my Colts are afraid to really suck. And yeah, who wants to suck? Right, nobody's having fun, your fans, your players, your organization. Like, it's never good when you're at the bottom of the bottom, but sometimes that's part of the process to give back up.

And the Pacers and the Colts never attract really good players in free agency ever, Therefore, they need to build their franchise with really good investments, good draft picks. And I think this has gone so wrong with Richardson that, like, I mean, he was ten of thirty two yesterday. You know how hard that is to do in the NFL. Most NFL play callers aren't going to put a quarterback in a position to have that kind of a stat line. And I'm not saying that the Colts put him in

a bad position. I'm saying they probably asked him to do things that, like any other quarterback in the NFL, should be able to do with you know, the difficulty of throw and he still couldn't do it. He's not our only problem, but I just can't believe that they that they drafted him. And you know, hate to say I told you so, because I really didn't want them to draft him, and I didn't want the Colts to

be in this position. But like he screamed, avoid, I mean he didn't yell at but everything about his college career and his story screamed on draft night, avoid this guy. This will be the one where somebody thinks they found something special, some kind of Lamar Jackson thing.

they look really good. So maybe if they if they keep winning and they look more so like they did last week, maybe they start to get viewed as a team that should be considered, you know, a contender to make it to the Super Bowl. I mean, we're a long way away from that, but they're five and two right now, two and one, and again they're coming off

their best game of the season. When Russell Wilson, he's easy to make fun of, Like, I get it, but I always felt like if they're like if there was some world where Russell Wilson got a chance post Denver and he ended up finding success and like it worked out to where he had a you know, four or five year run where he's playing good football and the

team's succeeding. One of the scenarios where I could have seen that happening is with Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh because as much as Russell's corny, I think he's about his business. Like I think he's pretty compatible with Mike Tomlin as far as like we want our brand to be that we work our ass off, and you know, I think Russell's always worked hard.

I happen to think that the Steelers were wise to take this guy whenever nobody else wanted him, because I think the risk was pretty low and the reward. I mean, if he gets back to where he was towards the end of his days in Seattle, like that's a good enough quarterback to where if you're pretty sharp everywhere else, you could be a good team. All right, quick break, we'll come back on the other side. Wrap up the four o'clock hour, keep this thing rolling along. We'll talk a little more.

up on the other side. Keep it locked right here on Sports Talk seven ninety final segment here in the four o'clock hour on a Monday edition of Coffee and Company. We are fueled by Thornton's here on Sports Talk seven to ninety. Big shout out to our friends over at the Jefferson Animal Hospital if you realize that you have not had your pet checked out in a long time, because you know, they can't communicate with us the same

way humans can. I'm sure they can communicate with you in your own way, but you may not know that they've got heck, they may not even know that they've got some potential health issues that could be a real scare, a real problem. So it never hurts to get your pet checked up, especially if you're geting a little bit older in age. So Jefferson Animal Hospitals is where you need to do that. You can get more information at Jefferson Veets dot com or give them a call. Five

h two, nine hundred pets. They're open twenty four hours a day, even on holidays. So Christmas, I mean, it would be a terrible Christmas to have an emergency happen with your pet where you need medical help. But just know that if you do, they're there twenty four to seven. Their team, their dedicated staff. There's going to be a doctor, you know, a doctor on site. I mean, this is

something that they realize. Yeah, you know, I'm sure there's been many holidays, many days where there wasn't an emergency, but I'm sure there has been many over the forty four years they've been around that were scary that you're they're happy they were there to help somebody in needs. So again, Jefferson Animal Hospital on outer Loop five two nine hundred pets is the number. Jefferson Vets dot com is the website.

just not reality. Like, yeah, I'd love to see this place eighteen thousand plus, but like that's not real world and everybody knows that, and I think there are people that like want that to be a reality that it just not, but it's not going to be and it's really not anybody's fault.

another thing, Like I mean, what does it matter? Like again, I know that UFL always wants people to buy tickets and go to games, like and I hope people do.

include the ticket. So two tickets to go see Louisville play Spaulding in the upper level but in not even like front row upper level. We're talking like mid level upper level with fees, it's a hud Bucks Like that's like.

control on what a ticket costs. But as far as like fees become a ticketmaster, that's just that awful company that is Ticketmaster.

show's flying by. I thought it was about to be four o'clock. No, it's five o'clock. So we'll fit as strong here, One more hour to go On a Monday on Sports Talk seven ninety