Jameis' Masterpiece, Broncos' playoff chances and an MVP Ladder - podcast episode cover

Jameis' Masterpiece, Broncos' playoff chances and an MVP Ladder

Dec 03, 20241 hr 1 min
--:--
--:--
Listen in podcast apps:

Episode description

Gregg Rosnethal is joined by Nick Shook to recap the wild Monday Night Football game between the Browns and Broncos. The guys start with appreciation for Jameis Winston (01:30), followed by a look at Bon Nix's play (10:27), the Broncos defense (16:40), and the remaining schedule for the Broncos' playoff push (20:38). After the break, Ryan Poles is leading point for the Bears in their search for a new coach (27:50), injury updates for Taysom Hill and Christian McCaffrey (38:42), and Gregg and Nick give you their MVP ladder (42:25) and players of the week (53:35).

Note: time codes approximate. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

Speaker 1

First down Cleveland at the Browns forty two empty set three left, two.

Speaker 2

To the right for Winston.

Speaker 3

Denver four man rush, quick throw outside.

Speaker 1

The ball is intercepted, intercepted by the brown goes down the east sideline.

Speaker 3

This is gonna be an house call.

Speaker 1

That is j Kwon McMillan.

Speaker 4

J Kwon McMillan caps a absolutely wild Monday night game between the Denver Broncos and Jameis Winston. Yeah, some other Browns were involved. To forty one to thirty two. That was Dave Logan on KOA. I am here in my garage, Nick Shook in Cleveland, a Browns fan. When you saw that Jamis Winston pass left to the inside and Jakwon McMillan taking it to the house for the final score in what was one of the wildest games of the entire season, what were you thinking?

Speaker 3

I mean, I should have been prepared. We should have thrown the tweet up. That just says, you know, Jamis has the opportunity to be, you know, to post the career high for a single game, set the franchise record for the most passing yards in a single game, win a prime time victory on the road. But we all knew what was coming, which is going to be a crushing Jameis Winston interception, and that's exactly what it was. So I wasn't the least bit surprised that that happened.

In fact, I laughed because you knew that was coming. But what a nightman, what a wild game between these two teams.

Speaker 4

I hope you're not like to downtrod And I was wondering what kind of shook we were going to get tonight. Now, that was a lot of fun, and it got me kind of thinking about Jameis Winston because this was the

ultimate Jameis Winston game. And this guy's been in our life for a while now, Florida state number one overall pick you know, Wes and I would just drive each other crazy debating about Jameis Winston Marcus Mariota for years and years, And I got to think and like, how much time I wasted debating that Jameis Winston was somehow better than he was, that there was going to be more than this, when in reality, like he's perfect, He's

perfect just how he is. He has given us so much and this is him in his final form shook. He should always be the guy that's on a bad team that replaces a bad starter and makes a bad team more entertaining in primetime at the end of a season when they're three to eight. This is this is the perfect Jameis Winston. We don't need more like he is, Kinough, you know what I mean? Like this, This is the Jameis Winston he was always destined to be, and frankly I appreciate it.

Speaker 3

This is the thirty touchdown, thirty interception hero. This is the guy who you know is great for a sound bite. This is also the guy who had Browns fans texting me in the third that he was pricing himself out of town for next year, as if he'd done enough to be their start, and people online were saying that still.

Speaker 4

Be true, that might be true. I haven't even mentioned he threw for four hundred and ninety seven yards and four touchdowns in this game against a really good Broncos defense. In four hundred and ninety seven yards, his price is going up. At least he was kind of he was out there for very little this offseason. His price is going up a little bit.

Speaker 3

Buddy, Yeah, I mean, but at the same time, there's the stink of the two pick sixers that he threw tonight, because you know that that's also part of his game. At anytime, he could explode for something like this and also crush your hopes in the same breath. But you know what, for a losing team, it's fun. It makes it entertaining, It makes you believe that they're not that far away no matter what team he's on, and it

makes for a fantastic drunk Monday night football game. Because that game was hammered.

Speaker 4

Broncos fans will get to all the implications for you, but you do have to understand that weirdly, and Jamis has a way of doing this. Your team was not the main character tonight. Jamis was that main character. And I'm glad you brought up the thirty touchdowns thirty interception season.

This was a guy who's very first throw in the NFL, Nick Schook, was a pick six, and that's This was a guy who, to wrap up that thirty thirty season, led an insane comeback for Bucks team that wasn't going anywhere, and through a game winning touchdown right at the end of regulation to get to overtime to get his thirtieth You know, he had over thirty touchdown to get to overtime, and then in the overtime he throws a season ending walk off pick six interception. There is something about this

guy that you just can't even believe is real. Like it's Shakespearean, It's it's tragic comedy, it's it's hilarious. Let's actually listen to Jameis Winston after the game.

Speaker 5

I am a better player, you know, but in times like this, you know that's it's it's an opportunity to continue to go off out the Lord even through the toughest circumstances. I know him better than this, I know. I'm like, I'm just praying for the Lord to deliver me from pick sixes. Like that's just that's not me. Like a phenomenal game offense do some great things, but I mess it up delivery.

Speaker 4

I'm sorry because he was He was actually pretty somber in this press conference, but him praying to the Lord to deliver him from six pick sixes. Like the funniest people are the ones that aren't trying to be funny. That's just there's just something inside of them. He almost reminds me of like Will Ferrell. I know he's not will Feroh, but there is just something like about Jamis Winston as a human that you watch and you just can't help but smile or laugh or.

Speaker 3

I don't know, man, this.

Speaker 4

Was this was the night. I'm so glad. Let's put him back in primetime. I know they flexed about in week sixteen, like let's put them back in SHOOKI.

Speaker 3

Yeah, you know, spicy browns. I gotta give you some numbers for contest for Jamis's performance tonight, because we talked about the ninety seven yards, the four touchdown passes, everything else. He could have had a fifth if he wouldn't have thrown a pick at the end of the game. He is the first player in the Super Bowl era with four hundred plus passing yards, four plus passing touchdowns, and multiple pick six is thrown in a game, first player

in the Super Bowl era. It gets better when factoring in the one hundred and seventy one interception return yards gained by Denver against Jamis Winston. The six hundred and sixty eight combined passing yards plus interception return yards off of his passes make for the most by any quarterback in a single game in NFL history.

Speaker 4

That's it like, that's everything. That's that's bigger than a victory, that's winning. That is the most shamous stat you could possibly come up with. What quarterback had the most yards plus interception yards and the history of this league that goes over one hundred years. Jameis Winston deserves to have that, and to get there, he did have to have a lot of great throws. Another record set tonight, Jerry Judy

goes nine for two thirty five and a touchdown. That's the most yards in the history against the Denver Broncos on a day that he came into it saying he wanted to put it on their ass that it was the ultimate revenge game and he got some revenge. Let's listen to our buddy Andrew Siciliano on the big Jameis Winston touchdown to Judy with.

Speaker 3

The playblock winding down, Jamis has this haf takes a deep drop in.

Speaker 4

He wants a deep shot. He has Judy running free.

Speaker 1

He hasn't at the thirty the twenty Jerry Judy de part pylon, hi stepping and falling backward into the end zone.

Speaker 4

Touch down Bros. Seventy yards.

Speaker 1

Jerry Judy, Welcome back.

Speaker 2

To Denver.

Speaker 3

How sweet it is.

Speaker 4

He brings out the best in people. I mean, Jerry Judy should have been the main character on any other night, like this is a Jerry Judy podcast. Jerry Judy was hilarious asking for the booze wave into the crowd, going backwards into the end zone, like stutting on the crowd and putting his hands on his hips. He could have gone for three hundred yards if Jamis didn't miss him wide open earlier. But there were there were so many

like great out routes. Eric behind the glass if you can put up that Ali Connolly tweet that he had or maybe it was on Blue Sky earlier. He said, Jerry Judy had the all time kind of revenge game that will probably actually make his own coaching staff mat It's like, oh, this is what you look like when you're engaged in running at full speed every rep.

Speaker 5

Too.

Speaker 4

It's like Nick like Winston brings out like the best in these guys. Suddenly these wide receivers look amazing. And yes, this Denver game like made Jerry Judy look like like he was the best wide receiver in the league.

Speaker 3

That's it's a valid statement. But I would also like to go back to the Thursday night went over the because he was just about as important in that game. Obviously was snowing, so the offensive output wasn't the same, but six catches forty five yards a massive catch on fourth down to set up that game winning touchdown. He's been much more productive. He's I wouldn't quite say flourished, but he's looked more like the receiver that they went out and traded for and gave an extension to since

Jamis came into the lineup. I think he's a key part of their future. But yeah, tonight, obviously playing inspired football and ready to get it from the crowd. The crowd's booing him every time he touches the ball, or in the first quarter he gets two matches against Pat Sertan catches two right at the sticks for first downs, like he was balling. As you're right, this would be the Jerry Judy game if it wasn't the Jamis Winston game.

He was absolutely balling tonight, and the other thing that it was missing was a win for the Browns.

Speaker 4

Right, Okay, So right after that Jerry Judy touchdown which made the score twenty eight to twenty five, rather right before that touchdown was what I what I thought was going to be the highlight, was going to be the craziest, biggest play of the game. At this point in the game, it's twenty one to seventeen Denver. Despite Winston throwing a killer pick six, and we might listen to that from the first half and then getting a touchdown late in the first half, they had almost three hundred yards of

offense at halftime. Winston had well over two hundred passing yards at halftime. But the teams actually were trading some blown possessions early in the second half. Bon Nicks was a little up and down. Troy Aikman's actually giving bo Nicks some grief right before he makes this dime of a throw.

Speaker 3

It's third down to twelve.

Speaker 1

Knicks, with a pair of receivers on each side, takes a shotguns snap, drops three yards.

Speaker 4

Into the end zone, loads it up, deep ball down.

Speaker 1

Little Phillies got ten zone Frances gone forty thirty twenty fifteen ten high stepping into the soft in zone, touchdown, Denver, ninety three yards, perfect strike bone Nicks to Marvin.

Speaker 4

Them ninety plus yard touchdown. What did you think of bow Knicks?

Speaker 3

Tonight. I think you're right. He was up and down kind of a mixed bag. Surprisingly when you look at the next gen numbers, he didn't get out on the run very much, which is obviously where he's been very good for most of this season. I think he had eight attempts on the run. He had like six attempts outside the pocket, which is just not typical of how they use him.

Speaker 4

And half of them were on that early touchdown drive that they had in the first half. He must have had three or four on that drive. But you're right, it kind of went cold for a while.

Speaker 3

Yeah, when he kept rolling out and finding Courtland Sutton open on the deep crosser, which he dropped one and caught the next one. Yeah, I mean there were big plays that he made. He had wide open receivers and he was hitting them, you know, all night. It's just that at times they kind of entered a rut. And then that play though, that play, I'm just like, oh, yeah, there's the potential with bow knicks from the pocket. Because he's backed up against his own goal line. It's a

short drop out of the gun. He just steps up. He immediately sees the inverted cover two. He sees Denzel Ward bailing out from the right side of the field to play the deep half, and he just rips it down the field and Ward misses it by inches and there's Mims to catch and run for a ninety three yard score. Not his best game, but a game in which you saw the potential in how he was spinning it in the second half in a wild affair. I thought he handled it well.

Speaker 4

Yeah, he threw two interceptions, was barely fifty percent completion. I don't think he helped his offensive Rookie of the Year candidacy tonight. I think Jayden Daniels in brock Bowers have better cases than Knicks, who's been very good. It was almost like he was inspired by Jamis because I thought he was chaotic all night. He was big game hunting, and he's done a decent amount of that all season, where he'll pass up an open receiver, which is not

his reputation to go for something bigger. But I felt like it was cranked up another level where he could have run for some plays, but instead he threw a couple deep ones against his body. He got burned for. One of those was an interception to Mims. There was a couple that he got away with, like one or two he hit, but it was almost like he was

watching Jamis Winston. He actually said after the game with Lisa Salters on ESPN that he's been watching Jamis, you know, for a long time, and he looks up to him and really admires how he's, what he's gone through in

his career and like how he plays and stuff. And I was like, you might be too inspired by him because that, like it was kind of a crazy game out of knicks, but you do love the ability to make that throw to Mims on the goal line shows a lot of confidence from Sean Payn, and it was after a couple of really rough plays in rough series where he was doing just what I was saying, where he's missing some throws and certainly not really seeing the field,

but he kept, you know, winging it and ultimately it was enough to win on a night where yeah, the defense got a couple of those touchdowns too for the Broncos.

Speaker 3

Yeah, I think that play in particular was one of those examples where you call something you think, hey, maybe we'll get this look in the shot, we'll be there and if not, more punning and they got the look and he confidently threw it, which is what I was most impressed by was just the fact that a rookie who was not even full through one full complete season yet was able to step up and just lit that

rip and put it perfectly on him. I mean it required it basically a perfect pass to put it where he put it for min to catch and run for the touchdown. And as soon as he caught, I think Joe Buck was just like he's gone, and he was because there was nobody else left back there. You don't see that from a lot of rookies, that type of

confidence just let it rip. So yeah, those are the positives there, and you'll take some of the negatives because the defense was able to score a couple times off of takeaways and ultimately they come away with the win. I think that this game in general for the Broncos is good teaching tape for them because you see the ability to hit the big play. It's a chaotic night where those things are possible. There were some positives in

the passing game. Jalil McLaughlin has a really great second half of the sixty of his whatever he finished the total yards, I think it was eighty four came in the second half. They really got the run game going. You also learned that your defense needs to be better prepared for a night like this. Like this is a Broncos defense that entered the night top three in yards allowed per game, one of the best teams in passing

yards allowed per game, in points allowed per game. They gave up a ton of points and a ton of yards to the freaking Browns. Like this is a moment of the season where you get to eight and five and you think, all right, let's look at this tape and correct these things here so that this doesn't happen again.

Speaker 4

Yeah, the Browns ended up with five hundred and fifty two yards, which actually doesn't sound like that much when you know that Winston has four to ninety seven on his own twenty eight first downs. They felt like they could do anything they wanted as long as Winston didn't throw a pick six. Like, yeah, they missed a field goal early too. There actually were a number of punts. There was just like a ton of possessions in this game.

It was one of those games where it was all big plays incompletions and like interceptions pick sixes, which just leads to a million possessions and short possessions, and their defense made a couple plays, but they weren't really getting after Jameis Winston. That well, one thing I do give Knicks credit for, like he does a good job. I think playing while moving back towards they're navigating the pocket against dangerous You have to make good decisions in those circumstances.

But I did think he got away from the Browns rush to give himself a clear throwing lane a number of times, and it worked a number of times, and sometimes he should have just eaten it or thrown the ball away. So he's showing a lot. But you mentioned it. The running game is what really carried them in the second half. In the first half, it was really the Benino pick six that turned the game around. At that point, the Browns are driving. It's late in the first half.

It's fourteen to ten. Let's take a lesson.

Speaker 1

Winston takes a snap.

Speaker 6

Protection is good.

Speaker 5

With a three man rush, he.

Speaker 1

Throws the bass interception intercepted thirty five is going to be a house call down the sideline thirty twenty five, twenty fifteen ten five touchdown. That is Nick Panito seventy one yards as Nick Panito with an interception return for a touchdown.

Speaker 6

Man who had Nick Benito on their Bengal card for a pick six, not me.

Speaker 4

That was Javis Winston just forcing the ball that he shouldn't. That he just looked at it forever and then just didn't want to take a sack and he threw that pass. But my god, like, maybe it's the number fifteen. I know Benito's one of the smaller pass rushers in the league, but he looked like a cornerback out there. That was an incredibly athletic. Excellent play by Nick Benito.

Speaker 3

Yeah, well, Benito's been an athletic freak since his days at Saint Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Ends up at Oklahoma as a big time recruit, gets to the NFL, doesn't have quite as much fanfare coming out of college. I think some of that had to do with the regime change there with Lincoln Rally going to USC. But ultimately he's really come on strong in the last month. In his last four games, he's got five sacks. I think it started in the Kansas City game where he

first popped for me on the tape. He gets two more sacks the next week and that dominant went over the Falcons. He gets one more sack against the Raiders in the following week, he gets one tonight, he had a team high six pressures. He was winning in one on one situations against Jack con Cletman lined up on the right side, and then he has that pick six.

A really good night for him and a guy that I think people are going to start to pay attention to as these Broncos get closer to making the playoffs and they have to start figuring out, Okay, who's on this defense because and who's on this team because we didn't expect this out of them this season.

Speaker 4

Yeah, I'm not gotta panic. I do wonder. It's such a it's been such a blitz happy defense. They really missed Riley Moss. Who knew that taking away Riley Moss from this defense would matter so much. But Riley Moss is a really strong number two cornerback, which we didn't expect coming into this season. And that's opposite Certan who's probably the best cornerback in football. So that's such an important spot. And the Browns were just absolutely hammering Levi

Wallace or whoever else, McMillan, whoever else. They were thrown out there. By the end of the game. They had a kid I hadn't heard of yet that I don't think it played this season. To just give him a shot, and they need to get Riley Moss back. But because of that vance, Joseph I played a little more conservative, didn't do as many blitz as that maybe did not payoff, and they should go back to the drying board there.

Let's look at the schedules for these two teams. And while we look at it, if if you're on YouTube, you can actually see the graphic that ESPN put up.

Speaker 3

You know, oh this is great.

Speaker 4

So I'm in the garage and I'm just I got Sports Center on in the background, and this this thing pops up and I'm just dying. Jameis Winston is just being goofy as hell, you know the thing where they're they're just in some room in the Broncos facility or the Browns facility this week, and they're saying, Hey, Jamis, can you let's keep keep it up? Hey Jamis, can you just stand in front and you just kind of like throw the ball around. We're gonna like put the schedule next to it, and.

Speaker 3

The comparison is the best because on your right you have Bonicks who just like toss the ball around, spinning around on his hand like a classic quarterback, just looking real stoic. And then on the left, it's Jamis tossing it around wildly, eating a couple of making goofy faces like that is just what you expect. He's a character. How you can't like him?

Speaker 4

It's so funny. It reminds me so much of the SNL skit where Will Farrow plays this guy on that's going to be like on a news TBS sitcom and he keeps popping up on the lower third interrupting. I think it's inside the NBA or some show or whatever, and he's just like, you know, talking with the people in the show, and he's just so freaking goofy. I

forgot to even talk about the schedules. Let's let's mention Denver Cleveland schedule doesn't really matter other than they play a lot of teams in the playoff race, so they could play spoiler. They get the Steelers again, they have the Chiefs, they finish at Baltimore. You know the Dolphins will see if they're in Week seventeen, so they could play spoiler, and they're certainly a more dangerous team with

Winston than they were before. The Broncos finally get to their buy and then they're really in the center of the NFL right now. They play the Colts coming out of the by which is a huge game in the AFC wild card race, and then they play the Chiefs and like they they are now main characters. I don't know how they're gonna like fair. The Chiefs are the Week eighteen game, which could be interesting if the Chiefs

are resting their starters at the time. Who knows. They're also at the Chargers and they lost to the Chargers in Denver earlier, so we'll see. It's kind of wait and see. But this was a big win to get in their pocket, nick at eight and five, with really all four games down the stretch, you know, being kind of difficult so that they are not guaranteed by any means to make the playoffs. So this was an important step for them, even if it was a little rickety.

Speaker 3

Yeah, you know, they were talking about on the broadcast to night how this was actually a very big game for them. They were seven and five coming into this game, and I agreed because eight and five get one step closer. You can do the math. But I am very intrigued by that at Cincinnati game in week seventeen, just because who are the Bengals going to be at that point? Are they going to be a team that's like, all right, well, we've tried our hardest offensively and we you know, can't

win games. Like are they going to pack it in? Are they going to try to play spoiler? Because I think the Browns will be this team, you know, for the teams that they play against in the remaining stretch, just because they have a character at quarterback and they just need to play hard for Kevin Stefanski despite not having anything really to play for. But I don't know about the Bengals, man. That's gonna be interesting as the Broncos trying closer and closer to the playoffs.

Speaker 4

That's an interesting call there by you because if they beat a team with the winning record, it would be the first time they're zero to seven this year, the Bengals, so that would technically be their best win of the season. Just a few other little just Jamis Nuggs before we move on and maybe this is more of a Browns nug. There's only been and this was from our friend Pat Darty.

Five different players or five different games of over two hundred and thirty five receiving yards in the NFL this decade, you know, since twenty twenty one was Tyreek Hill. Two were by Jamar Chase. The other two are by Brown's backup quarterbacks, you know, after replacing Deshaun Watson, you know, Mari Cooper and Jamis Winston. This was a team that didn't you know, Mark Cooper last year with Joe Flacco

and then now Jerry Judy with Jamis Winston. This was a team that literally didn't have over two hundred passing yards in a game this season before Jamis came in. I know, he's gone over four hundred twice. They didn't go over twenty points.

Speaker 3

How many times does this franchise need to watch and this is not to go in to Browns right, but just quickly, how many times does this franchise need to watch the Browns pull somebody off of the bench, replace Deshaun Watson with him and watch him explode for four hundred yards in a game, you know, with their top receiver in order for them to sit back and go, you know what, that guy we're in number four has no business being on this roster. Maybe we should look elsewhere.

I think this might be the straw that breaks the camel's back, But projects left, I don't know it's broken.

Speaker 4

Troy Aikman was more pointed about it than most of the broadcasters are, but he could be even more pointed. Deshaun Watson's never coming back there, But the fact that Winston has now twice thrown for more yards in the first half of games than Watson did in an entire game all season. He's making all these He's like kind of changing the math of how you look at these players. This Jerry Judy contract extension they gave before the seasons, Like, oh,

that looks really good now. Elijah Moore actually looks like a football player. Cedric Tillman actually looks like a football player. Their offensive line doesn't look nearly as bad. You know it's Kevin Stefanski is suddenly a better offensive coach again. Jim Schwartz. Things aren't really great on the defensive side.

Speaker 3

Ken Dorsey saving his reputation a little bit.

Speaker 4

It's just crazy and Browns fans pushed back when I've pointed this out, but I think Watson stayed in and they stuck with him way too long going and you're gonna say, well, they had to do it, they had to do it, they had to do well, you didn't like you don't have to do anything, and them sticking with him for so long sunk this not only through away this season, but it's just weird to me that Watson getting hurt is saving them all, is saving Barry

when he's the guy that brought in Watson. You know, because I think Barry could have gotten fired after this season, even though I know he just got the contract extension. I think their geam could have gotten fired because he's the guy that brought in Shaun Watson, the worst trade in NFL history, and it was almost all all nothing and no, maybe it's ownership, but someone's got to pay. He he he he owned it, he wore it, and he always defended it. So I don't know what crazy saves them all.

Speaker 3

I'm just gonna sit back and be like it came from on high, and you know, I just did what the owners told me to.

Speaker 4

I guess he can't say that What a night, What a night for Jameis Winston. That that last sequence was just Jamis in a nutshell. He he makes, he makes the hard passes, and this is why I couldn't quit him for so long. Let's throw up that lat that other Ally Connolly tweet too here, It's why I couldn't quit him. Jamis hits that third and twelve to Elijah Moore on the sideline right before the two minute warning.

That was an absolutely ridiculous throw that very few quarterbacks could make and takes a lot of guts, a lot of accuracy, a lot of anticipation, and it's in a big spot, and that's what sets up the pick six. Like they shouldn't even even been in that position. Olli pointed out, like what he loves about his brand of recklessness is not that he like bombs down the field. It is the opposite, like hash hitch routes that aren't within the flow of the play, you know, just like

doing things that that are crazy. He says, hanging things inside on a well covered outbreaker because it may have a chance. And it's true, like he tries so many low percentage throws that there is a reason why these things happen. But my gut, he hits those low percentage throws so many times. It reminds me a little bit of Will Loves who I just watched this afternoon at a much higher level.

Speaker 3

Yeah, that's brain throws.

Speaker 5

This.

Speaker 3

Two guys that trust their arm and you know Jamis, as Joe Buck was happy to note tonight former college baseball pitcher, can you know through a ninety seven mile an hour fastball, he's got the arm strength to rip it in there? Trust your arm a little bit too much, but hey, it's gotten this far, so why not? Why not?

Speaker 4

He still got his fastball? This is the ultimate Jamis Winston heater game. Let's take a quick break. We're doing something a little different today. We're gonna do some news.

We're gonna do our MVP Ladder. We might do this every week down the stretch, just to kind of show where we're at, maybe talk some other awards in future weeks, and then have our Captain Morgan Captains of the Week right after this back on NFL Daily, got to come down a little bit, got some news, and what better way to come down than to talk about the ultimate

NFL come down? This I go Bears. They had a press conference, a post firing press conference for what has to be the fifth time and about a decade or so. This time was with a relatively new team president Kevin Warren and general manager Ryan Poles, and we learned that it will be general manager Ryan Poles for a little while. Let's listen to.

Speaker 2

You excited about want to make sure we're clear about is Ryan Poles is the general manager of the Chicago Bears, and he will remain the general manager of the Chicago Bears. Ryan is young, he's talented, he's right, he's hard working. He's done everything in his power on a daily basis

to bring a winner to Chicago. This will be the most coveted job in the National Football League this year, and Ryan and I need to work hand in hand together to make sure we bring that to life, not only from a head coach standpoint, but also from an entire staff standpoint.

Speaker 4

Okay, two things here. Number One, let Ryan Poles make the decision. And eventually they asked them and they did say, he'll have final say, but it'll be, you know, a collaborative effort. Okay, good, make sure polls and the coaches aligned do not fire either one of them separately at any point in the process or else you're just gonna do it again. Number two is, don't tell me you're the most coveted job, coveted job in the league. Like do something right for once. That's not what we want

to hear right now. You puff in your chest out that we're the most coveted job. Why exactly is that because you run through new coaches every two years that you've hit your like over under win total literally once in the last decade. That was Matt Naggi's twelve and four year Like they you, this is an organizational thing where you don't meet expectations year after year after year. Don't tell me how coveted you are.

Speaker 3

Come on, Yeah, watching that, I felt like I was getting sucked down to as if I was sitting in there. I felt like I was getting scolded by a parent. I felt like I was in the Mike Holmgren press conference in Cleveland way back in the day when he told everybody don't come calling me for playoff tickets when they were struggling as they did for much of that decade. M little too arrogant maybe is the word for where

you are as a franchise. Right now, let's let the proof speak for itself first and go earn that first.

Speaker 4

Now, now I'm totally on board with him backing polls. Warren arrived there after polls, and so he's new to this and former Big Ten commissioner, and he wants to believe it's a new era and he's saying we will get it right. But as we've seen with these teams, the teams that struggle and keep making the same mistakes, you have to prove it to us that you're doing something different for us to believe it, because all you have to go on is history. In the history with

the Bears, it's obvious. Or you could change your owners like Washington didn't. Then suddenly you're like, oh, okay, now I believe you because it's new ownership. But that's not happening here. Let's talk about the Baltimore Ravens. Interesting note from that game we didn't talk about on the recap show is Deontay Johnson didn't play a single snap. Maybe we did talk about that. I lose track of things.

John Harbaught was asked about the fact that Deandrey Johnson was active but literally didn't play a snap there had a very interesting answer.

Speaker 7

At this time, I'm gonna have to wait just to clarify it. There's there's some moving parts there that that we're gonna have to figure out and explore and just see where we're at.

Speaker 4

I know it's not the question the answer you want, but it's the best.

Speaker 7

I can do in fairness to everybody right now.

Speaker 3

No, that's weird.

Speaker 4

What Sometimes you're in a press conference or I've watched these press companies, you know, reporter asked the question that it's like someone's got to ask it, like whether it's gonna be Jeff, is it going to be you know, Mary, Like, who's going to ask this? Asked the Deontay Johnson question. It's just kind of perfunctory and it's like, Oh, your coach gives you, Like then the coach just gives you that answer, which is basically, oh, Deantay Johnson's never going

to play for the Ravens again. I don't think based on that answer that they're working out something contractually, suspension whatever. I don't know what's happening. They actually followed up about it and he said it'll be sorted out in the next couple of days and just sounds like it's a disaster for Deontay Johnson at least.

Speaker 3

Yeah. I mean, it's a guy who has one catch for six yards in four games five games with the Ravens. Now they go to Tyland Wallace at one point during the last game when they desperately need another receiver after Shaan Bateman goes down and he's nowhere to be found. Weird. It's weird because he was actually having a nice year in Carolina. He was their best weapon once Adam Thielen went out, and then he got traded because he had some value to him for a Panthers team that wasn't

going anywhere. And then he goes to Baltimore and Dore's absolutely nothing, is probably on his way out. Weird.

Speaker 4

He got traded for virtually nothing. It was like a conditional six seventh I haven't looked, but he's not going to meet those conditions, so it literally might turn into nothing. It just sounded complicated, and you just wonder where Deontay's Johnson's head is at what happened here, because this is a guy who's been very productive forty seven hundred career receiving yards in six seasons. That's you know every season

he's six seven, eight hundred yards. When I did the top fifty free agency, like I thought, he's going to be one of the best wide receivers out there, but he's had about as bad a franchise well or year that you could have. Contact.

Speaker 3

Yeah, it's that. And it's an organization in Baltimore that usually does well with these types of additions, Like they've brought in a number of veterans over the last ten to fifteen years that usually thrive or produce at some level and get acclimated to what's going on there culture wise. This is like the first that just completely flopped in my at least recent memory.

Speaker 4

Right, it's a good call. Sometimes, Nick, I'm at home on Mondays and I see a quote like a postgame presser, and I was like, I wish we kind of talked about that on Sunday. So let's hear from Lamar Jackson, who did exactly that for me this afternoon. Hard looking back, you feel like there were some opportunities to run today for you.

Speaker 6

That you may have passed up.

Speaker 8

Yeah, my moment just told me that just cuts me out, So like I'm mad, So like we gonna get after it. I ain't gonnat to it. We're gonna get after it. I can't wait to get them get on. We got the giants coming up. I'm ready to go, Like I'm just ready to go.

Speaker 6

So what did she cuts you out about?

Speaker 8

She said it was lanes. I should have took a rant, But you know, I just trying to let guys develop rouths. We had developing routes. I'm just trying to go through my progression. But yes, you're right, I'm gonna do.

Speaker 4

My mama knows the pain in Lamar Jackson, like you felt it in his chest when he when he brought that up. And it's kind of great that his mom is the one immediately after the game giving him hard criticism. Same as ever. I mean this, he's about as close with his mom in terms of she was his agent

and everything grow growing up. And she's still the one being like, take those eight yard runs, Lamar, Like they were right there in front of you, but you understood what he was getting at, waiting for the receivers to run their routes.

Speaker 3

Yeah, if anybody's gonna light a fire under Lamar Jackson, apparently it's his mom. And you know what he'll probably take your advice. He's become less of a like run first guy over the last couple of years, despite that being you know, like the reputation or the criticism of him, and he's become he's proved himself as an excellent passer, especially the last you know, eighteen months or so. But I'd like to see a little bit more runn because I think he could have done some damage in that game.

Speaker 4

Well, just when it's there, when it's the right play, right. That quote actually, I wanted to put it on the show too, because it does make me think that sometimes in these big games, he is in his own head a little bit, like he's not always making the right football play. And I think what Lamar's mom was getting at.

And she's watched him obviously and knows his game better than anyways, Like that was the right football play on a number of them, and he was so locked in to letting the receivers like develop their routes that he wasn't he wasn't taking the profits, you know, wasn't he wasn't taking the guaranteed money on a lot of those plays, and he forced some passes and he's just been in his own head a little bit in some of these games, and you give a ton of credit to the Eagles defense and what they did.

Speaker 3

Yeah, you don't want to take away one of the greatest strengths that makes Lamar Jackson so special. By the way, Like when you have a mobile quarterback like that, and especially one who is evasive and slippery as he is, you wish you had a twelfth defender on the field. So why limit yourself. I want hit to see him improve that before the playoffs, just because that kind of reminds me of what happened in that weird game against Kansas City that they lost in the AFC Championship game

last year. You got to get better, you know, after losing a game like that last year, And you know, right now there's some reason to be thinking. I don't know, I don't know if they're going to quite get back there, but I think they will have the talent to it. He's gonna have to play a part in that.

Speaker 5

Well.

Speaker 4

It reminded me of the Steelers game from just a couple of weeks ago. Yeah, so he's got some big games down the stretch, and you're right, I think it'd be big for him to play his best in the biggest games down the stretch, and man, it just feels like the Ravens kind of like this Broncos team tonight. It's just like they needed a break. This Broncos team needed a break. The Ravens especially. I feel like they're in the biggest game of the week every single week

and they're not always at their best. As good as Lamar Jackson has been this year, the Lions have gotten pretty close to being at their best. So though they could have lost that game to the Bears on Thanksgiving afterwards, there was a little bit of a controversy that Jamir Gibbs had a TikTok post that showed some of his offensive playbooks, some of the calls protection calls. Dan Campbell was asked about it today. This was with Costa and Jansen on Odyssey's ninety seven point one the Ticket.

Speaker 6

I don't really give a crap. I mean, if we're going to lose because of code words, then we're not good enough anyway. So I think we'll just post the whole freaking playbook out there and every code word we've got, and it doesn't matter. It's not going to hurt us, it won't affect us.

Speaker 4

I love it. I just love Dan Campbell.

Speaker 3

I look forward to finding the pdf downloadable pdf of the Lions playbook. Can't wait to peruse that.

Speaker 4

I mean it was It's not like you're going to get the whole thing, but there were there were some call I think they're gonna have to change some code words of like what the different line moves and stuff.

Speaker 3

I did not you imagine the practice, all right, guys instead of doing this today because of Jamiir being an idiot on social media, we are now spending time changing words. So this is now this, let's wrap.

Speaker 4

It's It's true like some of these teams, they don't change their audibles for like two three years. I'm always surprised about that. Some teams change it all the time. I'm always surprised when it's just like, I guess it works. You don't, you don't have to change it. Maybe maybe he's right, maybe it really doesn't matter. But Dan Campbell confirmed badass, also a badass. Taysom Hill bad news was

confirmed on Monday. According to Ian Rappaport, Hill towards ACL some other damage there too, as a devastating injury, really disappointing. Hope to see him in a Saints uniform at some point next season. Christian McCaffrey, we're not going to see him for the rest of the year. A confirmed tourn PCL. He will not need surgery inter a nick but he will not return this year. But there wasn't a surprise along with that news that Jordan Mason is also out

for the year with a shoulder injury. So this forty nine Ers backfield turns to Isaac Grendo. They're five and seven, technically only two games out in the NFC West, but that that is a double barrel blow there.

Speaker 3

Yeah, Isaac Grendel had a nice little touchdown run in the Buffalo game, even though it was out of hand at that point. Yeah, you know, another blow to the forty nine ers, and especially a tough one for Christian McCaffrey who had to wait so long just to play because the achilles calf thing that he was, you know,

they were treating carefully. And he finally comes back and if you saw the clip of the you know, the play in which he officially knew that his knee was done, where he takes a toss and just immediately goes down. It's just a huge bummer for especially for such a special player like that. I mean it's a big blow to the Madden cover curse too, because he was on the cover of that game this year. I mean, it's just there's nothing good about this, just like there's not

much good from this forty nine er season. It just keeps getting more difficult.

Speaker 4

I gotta say, the people that took McCaffrey number one overall in fantasy are all last place. Well yeah, that and they're all mad about the lack of information that was out there. And Kyle Sheening, I would say, and this would be true of fantasy maybe all fantasy sports, like literally never draft a person first overall if they're hurt at the point like you're getting drafted top.

Speaker 3

And savior draft until the day like the Sunday before Week one by yourself as much.

Speaker 4

Even then that this year that like we we didn't know he was even out one until we got there, so there was like no saving that. But here's a guy with a long history of injury that missed basically all all of training came. I think it's it's always better to be cautious, Like there's other good players out there that are fully, fully healthy just take just take them. Uh, don't don't blame the fantasy experts. Taysom Hill, as I mentioned, was the injury that the other injuries I wanted to

get to. Dexter Lawrence is headed to injured reserve. We just did not hit that. Since that news came out as disappointing. I think he had a chance at the Defensive Player of the Year. I still think he has a chance at all Pro defensive tackle. That's how good he was. They also lost their rookie tight end, Theo Johnson, who'd been having a nice year for the rest of the season. So a bad Giants team gets even worse. Aaron Rodgers will remain the starter for the Jets, the

team announced today Malcolm Rodriguez. It also tore his ACL. The Lions backup. We'll talk about the Lions Packers game, but they are really banged up. That'll be part of our Tuesday show with Jordan Rodrieg and Steve Weish. We also have QB Island coming back. Maybe we'll talk a little Rams with Jordan. I don't know, probably not, And we already talked Emmanuel Forbes getting claimed on this show

the number one pick of the Washington Commanders. Just a year ago Nick was cut and the Rams picked him up. Actually could see him like being on the field for the Rams. They could use the corner. You never know.

Speaker 3

It reminds of them taking a flyer on Tradavious White and realizing that didn't work.

Speaker 4

So yeah, sure, okay, sure, sure, like ten years older. It's always weird when like just gets kind a year later. That almost never happens, So we'll see. He was an interesting prospect that I think the Rams were high on, like a lot of teams. That's it for the news. Let's get Let's get to our MVP.

Speaker 3

Ladder, all right.

Speaker 4

Each week, I want to go over where we're at in the MVP rankings as of right now, just a little bit of a snapshot, going from five to one. If you're an Associated Press voter, you do vote for five different players, and so that to me is really interesting because the three four, five spot, like, it's intriguing. If you want to start with your ladder, I'll listen to you first and we'll go back and forth. Let's go for it.

Speaker 3

Do you go pick by pick or do we go all five?

Speaker 4

I just go for it. Do your whole five all right.

Speaker 3

Number five Joe Burrow. Despite the fact that the Bengals stink, he has not stunk. Three and thirty seven passing yards, thirty five touchdown interception Ratio's played excellent football. If they were a winning football team, he'd be very much in the conversation right now. So I'm still gonna give miss Flowers consideration, honorable mention, whatever you want it to be. He's number five for me.

Speaker 4

Okay, I thought about that, and now I changed my mind. I do want to go back and forth.

Speaker 3

It would be better.

Speaker 4

Yes, I thought about that. He was probably five or six for me. I ended up going justin Jefferson as my number five. Joe Burrow's been awesome this year. He's clearly one of the top five quarterbacks in the NFL. That that last game he had was so typical of his season because he played excellent. You can't blame almost

anything on him. And yet, and yet he was involved with the pick six and involved with a couple other turn of vers There's always these little and yet so I do think there's a difference between the voting for All Pro and voting for MVP. I do think MVP has to do with with helping your team win. And as much as it's the rest of the team that's let him down because of that, he's had to do too much. I'm just picking knits. I mean, he to me is my number.

Speaker 3

Three quarter right there, you're picking knits.

Speaker 4

Right, He's my number three quarterback in the league. I just think for my MVP ladder, I'd rather go with other positions. I have a couple other positions.

Speaker 3

Okay, so you're gonna go with Jefferson, right, And I'm gonna jump in front real quick, because since we're comparing this to Burrow, Jefferson has been all but eliminated from a few games recently because they know how much Sam Donald. Right, But that's he played a big part in that comeback win over the Cardinals. But and I know that's that is typical of football at times. But to make a receiver an MVP candidate, that's that's.

Speaker 4

Why he's five. That's why he's five. It's a big drop off from the top top three. Especially yes, he's still second in the league and receiving yards. And when I think of value and how important he is, he is more important than their quarterback for instance, and the gravity that he has You see that week after week after week, the whole point of every game plan is to stop Jameis I mean to stop Justin Jefferson and how much attention he gets, and they still find a

way to get him one hundred yards. He's still second in the NFL to Jamar Chase. So he is my number five. Give me your number.

Speaker 3

Four, my number four. You know, I'm thinking a bunch of mar Chase's candidacy, but already said Joe Burrow, my numb four is gonna be Dereck Henry. It's almost chalk at this point. But I mean he's had a hell of a year, you know with the Ravens. His first year in Baltimore. He's got fourteen hundred and seven yards rushing, thirteen touchdowns. He's chipped in one hundred and twenty five receiving yards. I mean, he has balanced this offense out

so well with Lamar Jackson. That's made this rushing attack even more potent than it was in the past. But when they had Gus Edwards and you know those types, and I mean he's been fanning. This is a guy who should be out of gas. Like he's approaching thirty. He's had an incredible amount of carries going back to his days at Alabama. This shouldn't be happening. It's like that old tweet that says Lebron's gonna be thirty five soon. We're almost done with this and then they're not. It's

the same thing. So he won't win it, and I think part of that is because he's on the same team as my maybe next guy in the latter we'll see. But at the same time, he's had such a phenomenal year at this age with this team, I can't help but recognize him.

Speaker 4

I like that you didn't say Lamar's name there, as if Rashad Bateman was potentially coming out flowers like maybe Ronnie Stanley if you wanted to get spicy, I didn't have Henry. You know, that's a totally valid guy to have in your top five, and I think if the season ended today, he would get some top five votes. I love that now that we end up seeing like a top ten of the MVP rankings. The Lamar factor.

To me, Lamar is helping Henry even more than vice versa in this particular case, and so he just got knocked off a little bit, but totally great pick. I have paday Sewell number four. I've been banging the drum for him as an Offensive Player of the Year candidate, so I'll throw him here in the MVP as well. I think it's totally fine to make the award what you want. And to me, he is representing the Lions on some level and that offensive line on some level.

But also he's the best at what he does in the entire NFL, and so I think it's totally fair if voters want to put them on their ballot. He's my number four.

Speaker 3

You know, I think you've often said it and you're representing it right now. Be the change you want to see in the world. What I'm saying throwing an offensive lineman in there. Look, you're speaking to my heart. I just know it's never going to happen. But if you why not treat it this way? I know, if you want to, you can. Let's make everybody else think this way.

Speaker 4

I know, I know you're out there, Josh Dubo. If that's how you pronounce it, if the Associated Press he listens, can I get a vote please? Or or at least maybe this will influence some voters.

Speaker 3

Who knows one for the pod.

Speaker 4

Why not, Yeah, I'll take I mean when I was at NBC, I'm not going to name names, but let's say some people had votes there that didn't follow football that closely and it got passed around a little bit. So I did. I did contribute sometimes to uh, to some of those you could probably guess, all right, give me your number three.

Speaker 3

It's clearly my number three is going to be Lamar. And you know, I think you make a great point that Henry and Lamar. I think they'll cancel each other out ultimately. At one point, probably about a month ago, I felt Lamar was almost running away with it. And we've seen some other players rise toward the cream of the crop here and make it very interesting. But when you look statistically, oh man, it's tough, Like it's tough

to not have him in there. Ninety passing yards, twenty ninety three touchdown interception ratio, it's got six hundred and seventy eight yards rushing and three rushing touchdowns. I mean, he's doing it all, he really is. It's just that he also has another candidate on his roster that's going to make it a little more difficult, and they're not as consistent as a team as I think that most

people would want from an MVP candidate. Now we still have these remaining weeks before we decide that, but he definitely gonna be in the running.

Speaker 4

I think, Yeah, you can look at different stats, like he's I think fourth in QBR it depends, you know, PF's maybe not like quite as high. And yet he's clearly better than he was a year ago when he won the MVP. Like, there's no question to me. I think he's a very strong third and absolutely has a good chance to win the MVP. Still, if he's the best player over the next five weeks by a decent margin, then he's gonna win it. In my mind, how he did last year, right, the five losses to me does

not eliminate him. He's just been fantastic. Who has played the position, you know, at the most consistent level. I actually think that's Josh Allen for me, who you know, spoiler alert is ahead. But Lamar at his best, I think has been the very best this year. So he's number three and he's close. I'm gonna throw my two out there. I bet it's you know, we have the same final two. I have Saquin Barkley as my two.

I went back and worth with this. I don't want to get caught up with the whole word value valuable. It's in the name, I get it. But that's sort of where I went with Sewil too. You can decide how you want to interpret it. Yeah, if you're voting Barkley, I do think you're you're partly voting for the Eagles running game in the offensive line in a way too.

But that he just absolutely supercharged and he is playing at a level at this position that we haven't seen since Ladanian, Tomlinson, Marshall Falk, you know, Adrian Peterson in his MVP year, Like that is what he's doing right now, maybe even better than some of those years. So it's hard for me to not put him number one. I really struggled because that's how special a year he's having. It's one A, one B for me, but Saquon for me is number two.

Speaker 3

We're going to invert these because I have Allen at number two and it doesn't really have to do with the numbers as much as what we've talked about so much on this show, which is how he is just a game changing talent for these Bills who can win in a number of different ways, and he can succeed in a number of different ways. He can throw the ball all over the yard. He's the most effective running running quarterback in the NFL, as you've said many times.

And then they go out there and drop a ton of points on a snowy night against the forty nine ers, which just kind of, you know, adds an exclamation point to what we've talked about for a while here. I also think that he's done a really good job of overcoming the personnel changes, which is what we talked about a lot earlier in the season when they ran into some bumps in the road, and now they're just cruising

and he's obviously at the center of it. But since you went Alan, you went with Saquon two, and I went Allent too. I'm just gonna tell you right now, Saquon's number one for me. So if we want to get back and forth about the comparing these two, I will happily point out that while you're absolutely right about, you know, incorporating the offensive line, or that we could talk about the Bills offensive line and how well they've

protected Alan for most of this season. There in corporation of the running game, which is vastly different than where they were last year's. Basically, since Joe Brady took over, they've been a different offense. And James Cook has factored into that little bit of Ray Davis too. Shout out to Ray Davis, and I look at the Eagles and

I look at Saquon Barkley. I watch an offense that lost Jason Kelcey this offseason, lost Isaac Samala, which okay, near replacement level guard if you want to talk about him like that. They replaced him with McKay beck, and

they replace Kelsey with Cam Jurgens. Okay, They've dealt with injuries in the offensive line at times, and yet Saquon has looked head and shoulders, knees and toes and a ten foot wall outside, higher and better than where they were with DeAndre Swift, where they were with Miles Sanders like he is. I watch him run every week, and I think, God, I wish he wouldn't have spent all those new years in New York. I feel like we were robbed of a surefire Hall of Fame career because

of the time he was there. Now, Injuri's gotten the way of course too. But he's playing incredible football and closing games and doing a little bit of everything, so much that he got a Nike ad for reverse hurtling a guy while wearing Lebron's. Okay, this is my MVP if he continues at this rate, slam dunk MVP for me, and I don't care that he's a running back.

Speaker 4

I'm taking it all great points, it's all fair. It's why at this point in time where I totally get it, maybe I'm baking in that. Can he keep this up? It's such a crazy pace. It's not just the seventy yard runs to ice the games, it's the nine yard runs that should have been four, just over and over. He's special. He could make the Hall of Fame by the way shook. I think he's on pace for.

Speaker 3

It, but it would have been guaranteed by now.

Speaker 4

The numbers are going to have to come down with running backs, kind of like the bar went up with quarterbacks, you know what I mean. And because he's going to be if he's one of the two or three best at his position over an eight year period, let's say

those guys make the Hall of Fame. And to me, he has a good chance to do that, especially if he can rack up an MVP or an Offensive Player of the Year season this year in another good season or two in Philadelphia, so I think he has a chance to I just look at Josh Allen and think how valuable he is in the running game and in the red zone and as a receiver, and I just think that it just puts it over the top of the where it's so hard for me to give it to I guess a running back when a quarterback is

having a superlative season like this for Josh Allen. But they're one A, one B and the MVP race is

just getting going. So I think we can talk about it in future weeks and it's it's it's razor thin because it does matter to me, like what player what describes the regular season the best, like in terms of what is the most signature part of this season, And I think that's to be determined, but say that's an argument for Saquon because the way the Eagles have been ending these games, to me, is one of the most memorable things we will absolutely remember for years and years

and years, and he is the key to it all. So you almost can vince me, but it's a good thing. It doesn't really matter. It's after week thirteen. It only matters for this podcast. In this video, we'll revisit that. Maybe we'll do another award next week. We'll do Defensive Player or something else, and then we'll circle back to MVP because one thing I learned when I used to do the MVP Ladder each and every week on NFL dot Com, you start running out. You start just repeating the same thing.

Speaker 3

So oh, sounds sounds like what I run to in QB and Nick sometimes.

Speaker 4

All right, let's wrap it up. It is absolutely time for your favorite part of the week, Captain's Corner, presented by Captain Morgan. I'm gonna get us going. You weren't expecting this one. I'm gonna give it to zach Ertz. You're like, zach Ertz. Why zach Ertz. You know what zach Ertz did this weekend. He had a fiftieth career touchdown pass. What were you going to answer?

Speaker 3

That's what I was gonna say.

Speaker 4

Okay, and I started looking up, like, oh, how's zach Ertz doing this season? Because he's been pretty good red zone threat for them in general. Fifty two catches one

hundred and one yards, four touchdowns. I thought this guy's career, speaking of Lebron and those tweets of you know, thinking it was done at thirty five, I thought he was done done, and I mean really done, like we're making Twitter jokes about him done over the last couple of years, fighting through injuries, not looking like his body could just hold up, and that he could be an effective player

for a good team anymore. When he was out there in Arizona, he averaged six point nine yards per catch last year, and to see him out there, it's sort of just representing to me the players who are in it for the love of it, that are playing this deep into their career, like a Kalas Campbell, just because what are they going to do in their life that is more fun than this and getting it done at a very high level, and being a key role player for a rookie quarterback who might be the offensive rookie

the year. This dude has had so many different lives, one of them, you know, breaking my heart with an absolutely killer catch in the Super Bowl for the Eagles. That was a while ago. He was a rookie back in twenty thirteen. I mean he was with Chip Kelly, like was see with Michael Vick on that team. It's been a while, so just shout out to Zach Ertz, you're.

Speaker 3

My ch you know. It's it's funny because if you if you look at him this year, people will be like, well, he just needed a change of scenery. He needed to leave Arizona. He followed his old coach to Washington, essentially like he went from the Cardinals where he struggled to injuries and wasn't a huge factor after getting dumped by the Eagles who couldn't pay him anymore, and he cried on his way out, which understandably, so he loved it there and now he's having a little bit of a

rebirth year. He doesn't look like the same guy he once was, but he's crafty and he's finding way to make it work.

Speaker 4

And he's healthy. I think that's what it is sometimes for the older guys, like if you have the body like a Marcedes Lewis.

Speaker 3

For that's what the compo was gonna make is a little bit of a Marceades Lewis ark.

Speaker 4

Here, like he's just a physical freak that could like his body could keep getting it done. Year after year, and zach Ertz, after being hurt for a few years, has found good health. Soch'ers toe u Zacher. It's always one of my favorites.

Speaker 3

Speaking of Marceides Lewis, real quick before I do my captain ten years ago, Greg, I was in the NFL newsroom ten years ago after right after you'd hired me about six months in, and I remember sitting there with our former colleague, good friend Will Robinson, and we described Marceades Lewis catching a pass and right on the sideline as a plotting tight end, plotting two d's. He's still plotting through the NFL right now. So if he can do it, you can do it too, zach Er. It's good for you.

Speaker 4

I'm old enough to remember when people said Marcedes Lewis was a bust in Jacksonville. Now he's still out there. He's still out there twenty.

Speaker 3

Ten special teams and everything else. All right, My Captain of the week, gonna go bit of a deep dive here relevant right now because of what he did in the Jets Seahawks game. And is Canayan wang Wu, who was one of my favorite kick returners way back in twenty twenty one. When he played for the Vikings. He had a couple of kick return touchdowns that season and

then kind of faded into the background. He's got one since then in twenty until Sunday when he comes down and he forces a fumble on kick coverage and then not long thereafter, he takes a kickback for a touchdown, his fourth of his career. You probably don't know his name. Well, he's one of those guys you're getting mad and you're like, oh, look at that speed. Ready, I'm just gonna turn him into a stud running back over time. But in real

life he's a hell of a kick returner. And he got back in the spotlight on Sunday in a close loss for the Jets. He really gave them a spark at the time. Good on you for getting on that team. You're a new guy there and you're making an impact instantly. So you're my captain for the week. Oh and also Greg, I don't like to do this often, but I have two bonus captains.

Speaker 4

Wow okay.

Speaker 3

One is a member of the show, Colleen Wolf for going a perfect sixteen and oher in game picks this week. I believe it's the first time the Thanksgiving week. I believe it's the first time that anybody's ever done it in the history of picks. Have to confirm that with Sean Shoppy over on the YouTube side. But also I'm the other captain because I went sixteen and oh two in great company with Colleen. Let's go perfect game.

Speaker 4

That was just a long winded way of craving your foe from the drapers. Yes, it was Connie's celebrating actually in New Orleans right now as part of some NFL trip. I'm not really sure what's going on, but she's not gonna be in the studio tomorrow because she's working in New Orleans. What a place to celebrate a sixteen and oer record. An awesome job by Shooki and Colleen. That was the Captain's Corner presented by Captain Morgan's Delicious in Chris.

Perfect for your game day with your friends. Spice it up. Visit Captain Morgan dot com to find a Captain near you. Please drink responsibly talking to you, Colleen. What a couple of captains, Shookie and Colleen. That's it for today. Like I said, we will be back on Tuesday with Jordan

Rodrigue of the Athletics. Steve Weiss'll be in the building doing a little QB Island, doing a little Lions and Packers preview, and yeah, when Jamis Winston is making unforgettable touchdowns and pick sixes, football is finally back.

Transcript source: Provided by creator in RSS feed: download file