They're Around the NFL podcast. It's live from Radio Row in Las Vegas. Hello, and welcome to Around the NFL, presented by DraftKings Yes and Jason Zumalt. He told you what you needed to know about the setting. Here we are in Las Vegas, Nevada, Mandalay Bay and the what do they call it the Media Center? No, this is the episode Command Center, Radio Room Convention and a beautiful set provided to us by our iHeart, the good people
at iHeart, and we are thrilled to be here. Dan hanss Got Heroes, Greg Rosenthal, Mark Sessler and you heard her voice, Colleen Who and Colleen Can I just say I am thrilled that you're here?
Me too?
I mean I I was worried. You went up yesterday the Air Force Thunderbirds. These are the guys. These are the dudes that do the flyover before the Super Bowl.
Uh huh.
And you went up in there to grab some g's to take some G some of the G power away from Triple G.
Uh huh?
Did you go more than Triple G?
You don't understand G power if you think that it's an inexhaustible resource.
There's g's for everyone.
How many.
Geez, Colleen, did.
You go I pulled nine G nine.
Tripled your G output?
Oh my god, Okay, let's be thrown down. This was the coolest experience of my entire life and nothing will ever top it. So I don't know now where that leaves me mentally, but I'm still processing the whole thing and it was the most amazing experience.
Wait, what does nine g's mean?
Are you worried that your husband, John Gonzales, saw you say it was the best day of your life and five Like, I've spent a lot of days with her, but this wasn't one of them.
No, John was so excited about it. I don't even know how to describe what yesterday was like. First of all, I had to do so many hours of like briefing and training, Like as soon as I got there, they were teaching me how to cut lines on a parachute. I had a pocket knife and my jumpsuit in case we had to eject.
I had to do all sorts of like.
Egress training, and they teach you how to breathe to handle the g's because if you don't breathe through it, you'll pass out immediately. So I had like I had a G suit on, which was really cool because it's like plugged into.
The plane, so it's automatic.
It just starts compressing when you start pulling g's and you have to Basically, they were like, if you're going to pass out, if you're not breathing right, you lose your color vision first, and then you start to get the tunnel and the tunnel will close in until you black out.
And when we went up, I've seen the top Gun sequel. I'm aware of how it works.
Yeah, they're there, pull up, pull up.
Yeah, I was watching that and very closely. There was all sorts of like codes that we had, like ease if I was feeling sick. There was a gangload in case there's a fire in the cockpit and you have to go full like.
Oxygen, bailout, bailout, bailout as a.
Jet egress, egress egress, there's like a canopy thing that flies off. So we go up and there he's like, Okay, we're gonna let's do a G warm up. So we're just gonna do like the human body essentially, I learned this yesterday. Can handle four to five g's and then after that you have to breathe through it, and so we did five g's and I lost my color vision. The tunnel started to close, and I was like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
not on this first thing we're doing. And so I tried really hard and I like did the breathing and I was able to reverse the tunnel and come out of it, and I was fine.
We did all sorts of tricks. They were doing spins.
Loops, barrel rolls, we were flying upside down over like the snow capped mountains.
It was so cool.
And then we did nine g's and I feel like I've accomplished the most insane thing of my life, from not passing out, not throwing up. And to make it all even crazier, my lucky number is eight, and I went up with Thunderbird eight, so it was eight on the plane and his call sign was triple M.
How about that triple G. This is so perfect. It was so fun.
Wait a minute, you at some point you lose color vision? Yeah, are you seen in black and white?
Then?
What is it? What is that?
That's basically the oxygen is not going like the blood flow, and the oxygen is not.
Going to where essentially exactly.
So then once I was able to reverse the tunnel vision, then my color vision came back and it was fine.
I was so disoriented after the flight.
Though I did not expect it to be a full body workout, I was completely drenched in I am so sore today because you have to tense up your whole lower body and do all of these like breathing exercises. And when I woke up this morning, it felt like I had been on a week long bender where I only drank and did all sorts of drugs, and I felt.
And mind you, I went to bed like.
A summer of Connie.
Maybe not even like that. I've never experienced.
I was so hungover feeling this morning, and I was in bed last night at eight forty five and did not have one drink. And I still feel like a little off. I have my the oxygen since I had it up at one hundred percent. They said for a couple of days, the oxygen will have to escape from my head so I'll get crackling in my ears.
So I'm doing a lot of.
Snap crackle pop right now and my head feels a little funny.
But I made it, and I did it, and it was so coold.
Oh, we're very proud of thank you. I am.
These are the guys that are going to be doing it before the game went Yeah, the same guys.
Yes, these are the same pilots that are going to do the fly over.
And they fly like eighteen inches apart doing all of these tricks, and I.
Was like, give a couple more feet.
I don't understand how when you hit like turbulence, how you guys aren't hitting each other wing.
Not just being pulled right off the craft.
And it was so interesting because they said, because they are flying so close together, they all hit the turbulence at the same time, so they moved together too.
Yeah, but like what if that doesn't happen one day? Yeah, just once.
I don't know.
Everyone's dead. Mark, how are you? And Colleen? That is please don't do it again. I just was very stressful hearing my.
Dad was there.
Air Force here and that's great. That is unbelievable.
I think I have to join the Air Force.
Mark, how are you? By the way, I have about a fourth of my voice. Yeah, what is going on? You drove here? Yes? Immediately like those Actually we got the text that you were in Barstow last night. Barstow.
Barstow is literally halfway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Unless it is rain from like the deep heavens and at one point snowing, then it's like three hours and a half. But like, got to a hotel, fell asleep within five minutes, woke up, came here. It was a very smooth trip. In fact, got here hours before the show. And you know, not much else to report except on working, drinking lots of tea.
That's good, and we got to get you through the next four episodes here from Las Vegas. Of course, here for Super Bowl fifty eight Chiefs forty nine ers. We're going to get into the game in a minute. I just want to I want to say for the listeners, this is a very special week where, like I said, we have this beautiful setup that iHeart has been kind enough to give us. I feel like we got some juice here great looking on the floor at Radio Row,
we got is this real marble? I mean, I'm just I'm impressed.
I saw Jerry Rice walk by just a few minutes ago and he kind of looked up longingly at like, wow, my set.
Was not that nice. I had a great joy Rice moment on the set right next to us. I was speaking with our friend mj Acosta, and MJ knows everybody, so Jered not Jera. Jerry rolls in with his contingency and says Hi to MJ. They exchange pleasantries, know each other somehow, and uh uh, and then he looks at me and he was like, am I supposed to know
who this guy is? He just stuck out his paw and we shook hands and I was like, yeah, all right, Joy, I interviewed you once in twenty eleven and Andy Fenlon's office.
Oh and he remembered.
He's like, oh, yeah, of course no, he didn't remember it, Mark Sessler because of Super Bowl Super Bowl week, we are we are a show that's always innovating. It's how we win awards. It's it's we just did win an award. What award was it?
Again?
Greg?
It was the Sports Podcast Awards given out in the in the UK.
Yes, and what an incredible achievement by around the NFL. And we were just nominated for the Best NFL Podcast and the iHeartMedia Awards, which I believe they'll be sending us. I'm asked yet, but we'll see the competition's pretty rough there. It's the best sports podcasts. They just did about seventy billion downloads Kelsey Show, Who's that? Who's that in there? Levatard? Who's that guy? Also? Uh uh the talk commentator got
the part of my take. Of course. That's one where it feels okay that we're just kind of in the group. It feels good to be in. It feels nice to be nominated. But the reason why we are nominated because we continue to innovate. We always roll out different you know, satellite programs, and we have a great one debuting today with Mark Sessler and uh, you know you've won awards for this guy gets it. I mean that we all know. I don't like to talk about it, but there have
been multiple you never bring it up. But we have another. Yeah, we have another offshoot that I think could be the Frasier to Cheers coming up in just a little bit. We're gonna have some guests coming by and it's gonna be Mark Stage and we're gonna go into Mark's little world with two very spe Guess should I say who they are? I mean they'll see it on the podcast, right, Yeah, I think so.
I think Cleveland Brown's spoil All pros stars, Miles Garrett the presumptive or possible defensive Player of the Year, we'll find out on Thursday, and NFL Honors and Star cornerback Denzel Ward sit down with Mark Sessler and Mark Sessler alone just in a couple of minutes.
Your thoughts, Mark, I.
Will say, these Super Bowl weeks like things happen to you because everything's happening in a flurry, in like a a like a visual snowstorm, and then suddenly you're on a plane home, like having just gotten here a couple hours ago, and now this is happening. And this was just this plan was just hatched this morning, and there was some back and forth on how it should look, and like, uh, I'm just praying it goes well.
That's how I am.
Anxiety from one hundreds of miles away over text.
It's gonna be a little different than some people that you'd interview. I mean even from like an NFL perspective, like Miles Garrett is a top five NFL star, and it's like I've created some questions that I don't know how they will go with these two figures.
So have you scribbled your questions on over there.
Well, there have been some technical issues, so I put it on a little nineteen eighty nine piece of paper from the Cosmopolitan Hotel.
Yeah, so that's coming up in just a little bit. But before we get to that, why don't we open up Super Bowl Week here from Mandalay Bay with one big thought and you know, listen, this is this is a huge, enormous stage, enormous little francessa enormous stage for Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid. I mean, think about this. So I did some research on this. So the standard, of course is Brady and Belichick and they won six together.
Paul Brown and Otto Graham won seven, but that's different AAFL four three in the NFL with the Browns who are going to be on the show, and just a bit the Faces of the Browns defense with Mark Sessler, Vince Lombardi and Bart star Star won five titles together. But some of that, of course predates Super Bowl as well, the Super Bowl era which started in sixty seven. I believe Chuck Noll and Terry Bradshaw they won four Allis and Sid Luckman won four for the Bears. Those are championships,
but that's again pre super Bowl. So on the Super Bowl era, Bill Walsh, Joe Montana, they produced three and Brady and Belichick six, And I'm thinking about those two combos, and now it's Reid and Mahomes and they have Mahomes been in the league seven years and he's been the starter for six years, and they've been to six AFC title games. This is their fourth super Bowl and they're
going for their third Super Bowl championship. And I can't You just don't know, Greg, you're you're a Patriots historian of their big run. The gap between the last pre third and fourth titles, yes, how long was ten years? Ten years. So the idea that we could just pencil in Mahomes and the Chiefs with Reid to get back next year or the year after, No like it. During over the course of a career, even Brady and Belichick, the standard bearers, they went a long gap before winning
and starting that second run. So you got to make good while the good is there to be made, winning this one, getting the third one in the bag with another ten to twelve years of his career ahead of him, and who knows how long Reid is ready to go on, but he's not looking to retire. Based on what he's been saying this week, it's such an opportunity for them. They're already legends, but to enter that different stratosphere of
all time greats, and we're here for it. We're kind of lucky because as difficult it was for me to watch the Patriots up close the way we got to do in that second half of their run, to go from Brady to Mahomes, to see two of these legends, all time greats, it's pretty cool.
I have tried to not take greatness for granted because, like a lot of people, I was disappointed the Chiefs made it to this point.
I wanted fresh blood.
I wanted it to be the Bills finally getting over the hump, or the Ravens and Lamar for the first time. That would be exciting, And as we've gotten closer to the super Bowl, it's like, don't be bored with greatness. I think what you said was perfect because I think about Andy Reid a lot in terms of his trajectory and when he was with the Eagles, I thought he was the best offensive coach in the league.
As much as Kyle Shanahan.
I think in the last ten years, I thought Andy Reid changed football, Like I thought he was a Hall of Famer before he won his first Super Bowl. He was that good a coach, but he couldn't quite get over the hump in terms of winning the super Bowl with the Eagles to see that guy paired with Mahomes, which there's no comparison for Mahomes. I mean you're saying, Okay, this puts him in a certain class. In a certain way.
Mahomes is in his own class. There is no quarterback remotely similar in terms of their first six or six years, just in terms of the individual accolades, is individual excellence, just how great he is and the team's success. He is the greatest player in terms of his first six or seven years. So for those two, his first year is the starter as a start, like he was immediate he was he was the best player in the league.
Yeah, all right, how about you Mark, get us going with yours.
One big thought, it's on the other side, it's Kyle Shanahan because to me, he's the great what if coach he lost twenty eight to three, biggest stage possible. We were just here a couple of years ago in this same matchup. These two teams are quite different, and yet the Niners had a lead in that game and fell apart when it mattered most.
And in general, this is someone that you.
Could look at say he could have five or six Super Bowls if things have gone differently. He's lost multiple NFC title games and it's tough to get back, but he does. He has brought this Niners team back years years, years in a row, and yet this feels like a different team to me, just because you're getting the quarterback play you wanted. No matter what you say about the brock Purty situation and experience, He's done fine by The Niners have done everything that a Kyle Shanahan quarterback be
asked to do. But it is a top heavy, weapons rich offense that you don't know who to protect, who to stop. And I think this is kyleee Shanahan's chance. And it's like, I just feel if this doesn't happen for them, that the Kyle Shanahan legacy, you know, like Mike Shanahan went years until he finally won those two with Elway, Elway went obviously years, losing multiple Super Bowls Bowls before winning two and neither one. Elway retires but
Mike Shanahan never got back to those heights ever. Again, that's your lesson from your own father that even if you get there and you win, two might be the crown. One might be the crown, and to lose a third Super Bowl one as an offensive coordinator this weekend would just be crushing. I think it just takes so much resilience from not just him, but everyone else to get back, and there is a fair amount of weight I think on certain players that we here last time that feel
that were the Chiefs. To me, it's not house money for everything you just said, it matters so much, and it's like I just watching a little bit of like Opening Night Media Night that like, the Chiefs feel kind of loose to me, not that the Niners feel butt tight, but the Chiefs just feel kind of like they've been here and loose, And I just wonder if it gets into one of these key fourth quarter situations, like which team do you trust to pull it out?
Shanahan, I do say.
I do think one thing after what happened last week in the NFC Title Game, defense fell apart in the first half. You're down by a ton. That was a different type of win for the Niners. I'm kind of glad that happened for them. It was instructive. Colleen, your big thought, Okay, My.
One big thought is also about one of the coaches involved in this game, but I'm going to go with Steve Wilkes. I think that his performance in this game and the way that this game goes could really change his trajectory in the NFL. Because everyone is talking about spags this game. Everyone's talking about Shanahan and Andy Reid, but Steve Wilkes against Andy Reid, Like, think about all of the Niners dcs that have gotten head coaching jobs
in the NFL, Robert Sala, Demico Ryans. If he has a big performance against Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes on the biggest of all stages, he's going to set himself up for a potential head coaching job in the future.
Big yep, big one. And that's been cottage Industry DC for the Niners to get a gig, and it hasn't been always a smooth ride this season for them, but we'll see Greg close it out.
One big thought, My big thought is more about where we are right now to just like take a moment and realize we got C. J. Stroud standing over here in the Las Vegas like in Mandala, and it all seems normal now. And this show is presented by DraftKings, and we've gotten used to that over the last couple of years, but it's freaking crazy. Five years ago, actually seven years ago now twenty seventeen, Roger Goodell is quoted saying we're not changing our position as it relates to
sports gambling. We don't think it's a positive thing like ten plus years ago, And he was asked about that this week he says, I think it's bad for the sport because he was worried about how people would question the integrity of the game and as it relates to gambling.
And I don't think that's really happened.
We're hearing all the jokes about the scripts and stuff like that, but I don't think it's really related to gambling. But it's just a totally different world and I don't know exactly how it's going to go. But the fact that the NFL has completely embraced Vegas to the point where they sort of fast forwarded that giving them a Super Bowl. They had to prepare for the Super Bowl because New Orleans backed out faster than any city ever has, like less than two years, and we're here and there's
NFL slot machines and there's everything. It's just freaking crazy because at one point I was like a seventeen year old kid whose two favorite things in the world were weed in sports.
Gambling, and I would have never troubled.
I would have never imagined the world has changed where well one has changed quite a bit because of our employment. Like I would have never I would I would have never.
Still a heavy drug.
No, no, absolutely, that's died down relatively, but it's still a beautiful thing.
Like we should really dive into that.
But the fact that we're living in.
This world where where both of those things are legal and they're encouraged that they are funding a lot of what's going on here, and I think we're in this weird sort of in between. There's been a lot of laws in the UK that have kind of pulled back some of the regulate like it's been an industry that's been regulated a lot more, and right now we're just kind of in the wild west where like anything goes.
I think we'll look back at.
This time as like, wow, that was that was kind of crazy everything that happened back then.
We understand why this has been a remarkable development for you and all of us. No doubt.
Although I did stop, you know, gambling well before I came to this, uh, this place in the NFL.
We got to stress safe. It was too stressful. I just looked over my right shoulder and the enormous, enormous superstar uh for a certain team out of Cleveland is ready to join us. So we're gonna take a break, and when we return the debut, I'm watching them to the latest spin off of the Around the NFL Universe. Mark Sessler lead the way, our friend, and then we'll be back on the other side of it. We shall do it, all right, be right back now it's time for a trip to march.
Man McGregor, all right, everyone, welcome back to the Man Cave.
Two very special guests today.
We have got two actually huge NFL stars from the same team, teammates Miles Garrett, possible defensive player of the year. We'll find out this week. Pro Bowler, Pro Bowl cornerback Denzil Award. Incredible season, this guy this year. The guys, I want to just ask quickly, like the immense change between last year's Browns the defense and what happened this year under Jim Schwartz. You know, that's why he's up for potential Assistant Coach of the Year while you guys
are up for all these awards. What was the difference? Like, how did with so many of the same players, how did it shift so quickly?
Man, it's so much I can say, so much I can say about coach Schwartz. I think just his attention to detail was a key difference. Just being in the meeting rooms and him being able to coach us all and take us through what's all expective expected of all of us, and just the energy out the field. I mean, you've seen us out there having all these handshakes and celebrating everything. I feel that stuff played a huge part in our success this year, and he was one of the key reasons as to why that was.
How about you, I mean, we're main things is you know, he always preaches about celebrating with your teammates. No swaggery and badassy, No keeping that that attention of detail off of what he's you know he said before, no we were now always in the meeting room. He always led you know, the meetings. You know himself. You know he always went through each position, no detailing what each guy
is gonna do. And know it might have been no down to nitty gritty with their own position coaches, but you know he was always and everything that we did making sure that it was it was just how he wanted it. But that energy that you see on the field, it's also no couple with the energy that he has every day, that passionate he shows every day, and that that kind of stuff is it is contagious.
When you hit the league, it was popular to talk about the fact that you were that you were a poet off the field, that you practice poetry, that words matter to you. Could you give me a few words to describe your teammate Denzil Award.
A few words, lockdown, relentless. I like that. How about in reverse.
I'm not suggesting that you write poetry algraphy, but you could just use the same exercise.
Yeah, definitely.
I'll say Miles is an electric I'll say electrifying is one of the key words that pops out when I think of Miles.
Get electrifying and dominant.
I like that, you know, so one of the reasons that I'm We've got a number of people on the show, but I have been a Browns fans going back to nineteen eighty six. So you know the Marty Schottenheimer's, the Bernie Kozars, the Frank Minnafield's Handford Dixon's Clay Matthews of the world.
This defense was different to me.
There was a bit of a controversy I thought early on in the year when they put Brownie the Elf back at midfield, and there is I don't know why people had such a reaction. I think it's historical, goes back to the earliest Browns teams. I would ask you personally, though, and I'll start with you, Miles, like elves in general, do you believe that at some point on this earth, like a mythical creature like an elf actually existed or does that not sit well with you?
Do I believe that I have this, So I can't particularly say that I believe too strongly in it. But maybe I just need to need someone to make me a believer.
All right, Elves, your take, see what exactly is a elf? Well, I mean, you're looking at one at the fifty yard line during each of these games, but it is typically, you know, a being that I believe uses invisibility is good with the bow and arrow existed in you know, in the woods typically, So.
Is that a wood elf or we talked about high elf dark l I.
Think that it runs the whole gamut.
I mean, if you get into I'm not you know, I'm sort of an at fringe elf individual. But like the fact that I think some people thought it doesn't represent a tough, you know, football player, Well, there's a lot of things happening with elves that could cause a problem for the Ravens or Steelers, I think, depending on some of their cars.
So we'll leave it out.
We'll leave that right there at that, So I did I had a question always about like when I you can tell that I probably played football one point in my life way back when, but I we would have these pregame meals where like some data the grill would create like immense amount of food and we go out and we all just pig out, and then forty minutes later you're out getting your butt kicked by Wilton High School because you just want to be taking a nap at that point, like what do you each and eat
and ingest from the morning you wake up until like the one pm kickoff.
What goes into your body.
A smoothie, smoothie and water. You keep it light SMOOTHI water, Gator light.
Yeah. Similar.
I'm not a big eater. Come gain day, I'm drinking a smoothie. Probably eat some fruit banana and that's about it. I don't eat too nothing too big. No.
I like that.
So you're here for Bounty and I love Bounty good product.
It has helped me at in my house often. Like, how about for you?
Has there been a situation, I don't know, maybe some sort of major fiasco in your own household or life where Bounty has saved the day for you?
I mean, I got dogs, man, there's all kind of fiasco's happening. So Bounties come to save the day multiple times.
Okay, so you use the product that you're pitching. I like that, Oh definitely.
I Mean I have parties all the time with my family and everything, so it's always a mess being made. Come party, tom So, Bounty definitely says the day when when using that.
Okay, just a couple more Denzel for you. Do you believe that Steelers fans have ever read a book?
Too?
I believe still there's fans ever read a book. Yeah, I'm sure they read a.
Book here and there.
You know that sounds about some point, Yeah, sounds about right. Last one for both of you. You know, I think this was one of the most surprising seasons. And it's the Joe Flakho of it all. It's you playing your best football of all time, the teammate in general, I mean just the way that the Browns came together. I think for Browns fans as unusual. They've been through a lot of ups and downs. Kevin Stefancy, Coach of the Year candidate, it was really joyful to watch down the stretch.
But then it ends the way it does, and obviously I would just what is your goal? Where do you want to be a year from now, when when we're sitting here at Super Bowl Week? What is what are the Cleveland Browns saying to their fans At that point you'll be.
Talking about us on the radio and you won't be able to have us sitting here. We'll be preparing for a game.
No more elevant conversations a year from now.
Well, maybe the no post game we're talking we have a trophy in the hands, or maybe a bottle of something. We're celebrating a win.
I love that. Yeah, exactly.
Man.
That's the ultimate goal is to get to where the Chief Center forty nine ers are playing right now. So that's what we're gonna work hard to do this all season and come back better than last year.
All right, good luck, thanks for stopping by, and we appreciate it.
Thank you all rank you. This is being a trip to Mark's bed, brought you by jentlemen.
Grecord right, welcome back, oh Man.
Sest Dog the premiere of mars Man Cave. And I gotta say, Mark, I bet you're feeling great now because you got that off the plate. Yeah, I hope the people are still listening that way. Again.
It's like you when you're dealing with like sixty percent of your voice and they didn't want to wear it like Can's headphones. So like I was, you know, it was a bit of amplify on stage moment you're suddenly on stage.
We it was an interesting experience for us, right because we're watching our own show for the first time and we couldn't hear what you were saying. So we'll be listening like the fans. By the way, because I know Greg and Colleen haven't heard it.
We are.
We're always looking to monetize the show and build the empire. Uh, this is the name, the name of the program that everyone just heard.
Now it's time for a trip to march.
Manch McGregor and Devil McGregor is a placeholder. We're looking for sponsors, and I thought man Cave mark is perfect because on the heels and the momentum of your desjourne knows ads really pushing your everyman appeal out there a little bit more. Yeah, I think so. The idea of people coming down into your cave, it's just an extension
of that brand that we're building. So anybody, including I'm just gonna say, do your no's like, if you want to extend the brand, Uh, connection with the sestag, man Cave is open for business. Devil McGregor just just a placeholder.
Yeah, I don't I don't know what the hesitation is on the part of that one particular pizza vender. I continue to have hope that they'll, you know, perform and come out of the shadows. They did tweet it me they did. Yeah that's big.
That's a start. Yeah, we could lead a your nose to water, right, but can you make a drink? We're gonna find out that's true.
We've done this show for for ten years and it's been great making podcasts where podcasters the next ten years influencers.
That's real, that's really, that's what we're happening. That's where the is.
You need the perfect setting, the perfect squad, the perfect eats, and the perfect plan to keep everyone pumped all night long.
I feel like I'm you know someone or else? Well, actually, can I say I did? Gail Godot like having to eat that pizza. We're not going to play it back becaus I don't want to make light of it because it's an important it's an important cause. But the latest adread that's out there about the getting professional help very different tone, respectful and somber.
Well, yeah, I received some coaching before I recorded that, and I tried to pay attention.
Connie, he where's your headspace at? Where's the oxygen levels?
And my head is in the clouds. Still got if.
Things went sideways, I did prepare something for this show. Is a Colleen was an amazing woman, funny, kind, vivacious and that laugh, oh that laugh A wild Irish rose. She was bringing serenity and warmth to this crazy garden we call life. And then and then we just all start to share memories of you but don't need it, so we're good.
I'm, i'm, that's so nice of you to think ahead and plan that way.
Thank you for thinking of my death.
I mean, you're going up in a jet with the jets. How close are they eighteen inches?
Well that's when they're flying with making eighteen yards.
Next, there was this one up there right there was you weren't flying.
No, it was just one. It was just me and Triple up.
There by the way. These guys I saw maybe it was the man that you were was here.
He just texted me, but they just.
Left this guy out of Triple by the way. A lot of people coming for your triple your g's, I mean, like Colleen literally tripled your g's like triple triple g. And let's talk about brand invasion.
I mean, I'm taking this as like an opening, uh serve essentially, and I will return fire at some point.
But this guy that you you went up in the air with, whether if it's him, I don't know, but right out of Central casting, oh.
Oh, you guys have no idea, like the every everyone that is part of the Thunderbirds. They are all like I don't know what the interview processes, but it was like a bunch of ken dolls, and all of the girls are gorgeous. Everyone is a fighter pilot or a fighter pilot adjacent. And I truly think I might have to join the Air force. But I think my window has passed at this point.
So top Gun is real.
It really is, truly.
I mean, you guys should have met fire if you guys would really have liked him.
Really.
Yeah, how many women Thunderbirds are there?
There's a few.
But also each each jet has its own mechanic and has its own like sort of.
Team, and so it's like mechanics. Everyone's good looking. Everyone is really good.
But what an experience satorial service? Just a bunch of nines and tens and.
They're all cool and they all get along with each other, like the vibes were honestly so good there.
Well, don't you know, Colleen, don't judge a book by cover. There could be something going on underneath the fingernails.
Well, I think that you could find out what it was. You should go over there next.
I'm going to bring down the Thunderbirds, you know, take them down a peg.
You know who's going up today with them, Matt Ryan.
Oh if Matt Ryan passes out and too many gee's.
Well, so they were explaining to me why as I had mentioned that women are more like physiologically capable of handling the g's. It's because, and I didn't realize this, Shorter people are better handles of the g's because of like the blood flow.
So it is. I'm a little nervous for Matt Ryan.
Six. It could be absolutely superior. You could.
Tenji's.
Tenji's is the only way to beat Connie double digit the gs.
I wanted to hit like one of the mocks.
It has been a great week for the small man.
I mean, Mike Rabel can't get a job because he's so big and athletic and strong. They're just passing out jobs to five andy pound guys.
What a moment here at Super Bowl week from Las Vegas. All right, let's do some news, get caught up on what's going on around this big game. See, it's important to remember because he's mild mannered, right Patrick Mahomes, But he's got that dog in him. That was from the Quarterback series on Netflix when he was going toe to toe with Max Crosby. It's one of the best rivalries
in the league. Crosby and Mahomes get after it twice a year and thought Crosby right in the corner when I walk home, and yeah, like Mahomes part of Mark, what has made this guy who he is? Like, you do not f with this guy. And we collectively as a people doubted him this year. And I know it's not just him, but the way he's locked in and leveled up and we're gonna do a Super Bowl picks at the end of the week. It's just like, could you possibly pick against Mahomes and feel good about it?
I don't know. I don't think I can.
I feel like if you pick against him, if you pick, if you pick with Mahomes, I should say and that they lose. You can't walk around the streets beating yourself up about it, because there's no way that wasn't a logical move. And I think the reason we haven't seen so much like wildfire and anger and vent him out of him is because things have been pretty good. It's like this, Yeah, I mean I thought that was instructive.
It's like he will get on his teammates, you will go crazy, he will show his emotions.
He's got all that.
I think he's able to keep it under the cuff a little bit more than others. But the Chiefs in general, outside of like you know, Kelsey taking uh, you know, justin Tucker's helmet and whipping it into the back of the end zone, like, they're able to, like like in the big moments, not lose their cool for the most part.
And it's interesting the Chiefs like to pay again because it's you have to draw the parallel of the last dynasty to this team, which I think absolutely if they win, you can't deny it's a dynasty. The Chiefs you could already call it that considering the success they've had, but a big deal.
I think they're the first team, the only the second team, the only team in history that's ever made four Super Bowls in five years other than the Patriots.
Wow in the salary cap. It's unbelievable. Anyway, the Patriots are easy to root against. There were elements around that team, including some controversies they were in, and then just how often they were in the picture. People just got sick of them the Chiefs. Not always that case, but it's starting to happen now where people are turning on the Chiefs.
They got booed loudly when they entered at the opening night of festivities on Monday as they took the you know, they emerged, and Mahomes was asked about that how things have kind of changed and how they're seen, and I really think this is some toxicity. We don't need this, But I really think the Taylor Swift pushback has been born that's come down and worked against the Chiefs as well, because she's obviously connected and aligned with them and bros or Tacki.
But also the booing from open night was a little misleading because the Chiefs fans were there first for the Chiefs podiums and then they sort of cleared out and then they had the joint appearance the Niners and the Chiefs, so then the Niners fans came in and it was mostly Niners fans that were left. So on the broadcast it sounded like it was just all booze, but it was also a little bit of the timing and the context and the red of.
Show, and also you're driving and you're taking, like the drive from the airport to where you're staying in Allegiance Stadium. The Raiders, you know, Death Star has a gigantic Chiefs helm on it, so like some of the overflow of people that were just here as Raiders fans were also like, I think, when which team I'm going to be booing?
Will be the Kansas City Chiefs. Not a big problem there, so, but let's keep the storyline intact. I'm gonna wipe all that from the show. Here's Patrick Mahomes on being the villain.
Not necessarily. I think I just like winning. If you win a lot and that caused you to be a villain, then I'm okay with it. But at the end of the day, I'm gonna enjoy playing the game and try to win as much as possible.
So you know, he knows what to say. Not much there your boy Mark brock Purdy. Meanwhile, he's on the other side of this and everyone is talking about Brock and what is he? Where does he fit in on this Niners team? How should he be celebrated? It's been quite frankly, it's become an exhaustive storyline at this point, including oh that guy's just the game manager. Here's Perdy on being called a game manager.
Like I feel like it's it can be a compliment at times where it's like, all right, you got a guy that can come in and run the system. Well, I feel like that's a compliment. I think that's you know you're doing things right mentally, and obviously you're good enough to be able to hit guys that are open and make plays.
So Mark like, yes, but also the pejorative nature of it is this guy isn't a playmaker. He can't do it on his own. But he might be hoisting a trophy in a few days and nobody would care what you call him. He would be a champion. I mean he's refusing to in a way.
Look at the definition the way that it's for twenty plus years, and I more agree with Baldy that he's a silent assassin. He fits beautifully into that attack. And like, I feel like I've talked about brock Purty from my point of view so often it's like I couldn't support him more. I don't know what you need a quarterback to do in today's NFL in an offense like this.
It's not because of the offense like Purdy does so much well, and I think we're just like, we can't reconcile the fact that he wasn't like a first round draft pick. I think people are still struggling with that that he's come out of nowhere and that no one recognized who he was before the draft too. I think a lot of people have some weight around the fact that Perty's blown all these expectations and been a complete surprise.
But he's not a game manager. He is the furthest thing from a game manager. The funny thing is, if you look at the stats from this year, Patrick Mahomes would be the ultimate game manager. Like, no one throws the ball shorter depth of target than Patrick Mahomes. He's not taken any chances. He hasn't thrown an interception in six playoff gas, which is outrageous. No one's even gotten close to an interception on him this year. Like he is doing exactly what needs to be done. Brock Perty
is the opposite. People that are calling him a game mander aren't watching these games. Like he's been a little up and down in the playoffs. Certainly, the first half of that Packers game wasn't good. Or parts of that Packers game. But he takes chances. I looked this up this week because I had a feeling on PFF. They have big time throws, big time throw rate. Four quarterbacks in the NFL are in the top eight of big time throw rate and turnover worthy play rate. Wouldn't that
be like the opposite of a game manager. So brock Party, I thought was exceptional in terms of the good throws he made in the NFC Championship rewatching that I was really impressive how many low percentage plays he made. So he's one of the four quarterbacks that are in the top eight in big time throws and in the top eight of turnover worthy plays. He is a risk taker. I don't think you can take that out of him.
He's not really a game manager. The other guys on the list are like Stafford, Trevor Lawrence was on the list, and Gino. It's a kind of a weird list, but it does make sense to me. It's guys who are gonna take some chances and it's not always gonna work out, but they're kind of fun to watch. And Flacco was way above the rest of them. If he qualify all he talked about that too.
He said that the nature of the Niners offense is to attack in the middle of the field, and to do that, you're thrown into traffics and that's I think part of that is built into what his skill set. He's not known for having a cannon of an arm, so he can't maybe hit some of the throws that Stafford can hit, so they attack in a different way.
You're not gonna hear me going into this week going after Purty too hard, because I really thought the way he responded when the house was on fire in the NFC title game kind of told me what I needed to know that he is a silent assassin, Like he's not going to shrink in this moment. He might make mistakes, but he's not going to collapse.
Well, he just look at his yards per attempt this season nine point six. That was the best in the entire league. He was the most efficient quarterback. He was top five in yards and touchdowns and passer rating.
How can you call him a game manager?
But I guess at the same time, it's like it's almost.
Like X factor.
Everyone has a different definition for these things, and it feels like it's sometimes fluid, because you could make the case that every single quarterback who has ever played the game is in some way, shape or form a game manager, where.
That's kind of the job. Is he where is he in elation? This is an off season conversation, but in relation to the Dalton line.
It's funny rocky, Yeah, like I think he's in front of it.
But how comfortable this is?
So he's way in front of it and that's why I well, if yeah, I'm saying, I agree he is.
But is he? Is he like a top ten quarter top twelve?
I think right now to me he would be it's tough to remove him from the system, but he'd be somewhere in that eight to twelve range for me, where if you were starting a team, you would go with about eight or nine guys first, and then he's somewhere in that that mix of eight to ten, which is exceptional for any second year quarterback. Imagine if Justin Fields
was a top ten quarterback in his second year. I mean, like, it's exceptional and it's okay, forty nine fans like you, it's okay that he's not a top five quarterback.
But what what would he need to do to change your opinion to get him into the conversation of like a.
Top five quarterback, a top.
Like what would he need top five, top ten quarterback?
Maybe would just need to see more, you know, see him in a different offense, see around. Yeah, I don't know, it's he is. He is gifted by I think cut down on the mistakes.
I mean he's he like like the turnover or the play thing I was talking about, it's a reason why you wouldn't put uh some of the other people that I mentioned it was it was Gino, who was it Stafford?
And Stafford you put in there?
And like Lord, like, he takes too many chances now and I think he'll he'll pull that back while still having the play maker right.
And I'm thinking, like to Dan's point, though he bounces back from that.
I think he's very mentally tough, Like there's something about him that with the way his teammates talk about him. But for me, like seeing him in a different offense. And I get where you're coming from, Dan, but like half the league is Shanahan offenses.
Now, it's like he's gonna it's not only just the players around. Sure he has potentially, but he made every one of those.
He's made every one of those players extremely effective in some of them, like Brandon Yuke has had a like a star season with him at quarterback. It's like he's he's he adds to the game, to the game of the people.
It's one of the most age oled conversations around this time of year. Like at one point people kind of thought Joe Montana was a game manager, was a system quarterback who should really get the credit Bill Walls or Joe Montana because at that point he had already gone through and had success with all these other guys and that that's like football is like you can't really separate it and the beauty is like they're only great together.
And and I there's no question to me, this is the best forty nine ers we've ever seen.
Like it's not even close. One of the things that like Jordan Love's a great example. I would have him probably ahead of party right now. And part of that is because not that he doesn't those guys around Green Bay aren't talented, the young players around him, the past catchers, Uh, but I think he made them better and is pretty making these this core better or is he just fit in nicely as a as a piece that is making the most of them. You know, I think love is
making that surrounded cast better. I think Stroud did the same things pretty behind.
You right now, Stroud is he?
Yeah? Crazy strange. Let's let's move on. Hey, this is always on my radar a little bit, just because how much things have changed in our world. Like twenty years ago, you know, you were playing the Super Bowl on like green concrete and everything was always terrible. And now every year teams are complaining about the turf, is he bad here? The grass is too slippery here, this and that. So
Kansas City is training at the Raiders facility. Yeah, and they are singing just Osanna's about it, Hosana, Like they're going nuts because it's great. We love it here. What a great team, a great facility, blah blah blah. So the NFC team is at UNLV and they are not happy with it. In fact, the union director do we know who the executive director of the players union is? Now? It's important because it's no longer a d Smith Greg. I mean, usually I have a computer in front of me.
I took the computer away when Mark did his thing, and I forgot to bring it back well, I.
Was curious if you knew it now, Lloyd Howell. Anyway, he said today.
B Smith like to like to get into the news too, Lloyd Howe, maybe not so much.
Well, wait till the next labor negotiation. He'll be in a punny But the UNLV practice field quote really isn't up to snuff for what our players deserve. So I just wanted to mention that they're unhappy with where they're practicing and the Chiefs are loving it. But I guess if it was the other way around and they were in the AFC, they'd be at the state of the art facility. But that's just how life goes. Deal with it.
Yeah, but something seems like you could have months ago realized that might cause some problems.
Truth, it's a little bit of a knock on Vegas as a Super Bowl city that they don't have to high quality facility.
I think they just put that down like the NFL.
Though, to make sure that that facility is that's the thing, like you this, there's a lead up to this. This. We didn't just announce the city.
Right, But you can't just like create out of thin air, like you know, a football facility. So they I guess you and A was the best they could do, and next time around, hopefully it's a good point.
In other news, Greg, you mentioned it and your one big thought that got us going. How the NFL is? You know, for years it was like stay away, gambling, stay away, and now we're well, we are fully in bed. I mean we are presented by DraftKings today for an example. We also, by the way, just so people know the rules. So all of the NFL employees did get a sternly worded email from Rog himself about, Hey, you're in Vegas to work. You're not allowed to gamble. Obviously you can't
go in the sports books. Uh, you have to avoid all those things. But no thought machine, no nothing, nothing, you can't go on them.
I'm glad I did not read that email. So I'm glad that you apprised me of that.
Like I wasn't.
I didn't know that that part about the slot machines. You are you a slot machine guy?
No?
I mean actually it was you need like an oxygen tank.
You know.
I feel like when you walk through a casino and I'm just like the noise of it. It's like a dave On busters On LSD it's like I need to be the.
Same in this Like it's just overstimulating to walk through to you know, the colors, the noises, the people, it's a lot so.
Just you would imagine once again, you would you would imagine that both these teams. And there have been stories, you know, go look up the name Barrett Robbins is an example. There. There are stories of players that go crazy super Bowl Week get themselves in trouble. I think where Barrett Robins go.
I think he went to Mexico, Yes, I think it was Tijuana or or parts close.
He was the starting center of the Raiders, right, and it's a wild story. Waxed the next day by the Bucks, so they sure did.
There was the Falcons, you know, Walter Payton, man of the Year, caught with a hooker that we.
Lay the night.
Eighty six pat eighty six eighty five Patriots had some issues before they destroyed by the Bears.
That's why they are so strong. No, it's not, it's the word.
I don't know. Don't look at me.
Anyway. Read the coaches, read and Shadahan and league representatives. As soon as they touched down in Vegas, they they're talking to the players, but here you can't. You got a new not what you can and cannot do. Here's what Reid said this week. We had the league security rep come in and talk to the guys right when we got here, I mean literally when we got here, and that was part of the conversation was gambling. He made it very clear, restating the rules and regulations and
temptations here obviously in Las Vegas. So that was addressed. Oh man, I got a feeling. I don't want to put a sangwiche on it, and we'll do our Super Bowl Sangwich props later. We're going to get a story this week. It might be might come off this day. So I don't know, but someone is going to be a storyline about he's going to be I'm not reading to do that because I don't it's probably not going to be good. So I don't want to root for bad news for somebody. But that's mark something.
Well maybe it won't be a bad story that comes out. There will be a story.
Like what would be a good story.
Well, there's always there's always like the guy.
The guy put a like seventeen parlay, uh you know where he put like twenty bucks up and won like a million dollars.
There's those sort of stories. Good news is not typically news. If it bleeds, it leads, am I right, yeah, they got the chart agree, So that's I could say that Eric the Enemy, uh, former OC of the Chiefs, he's got rings with this team, and he left case and became the offensive coordinator of the Commanders this year. But he got fired over there, so now he's looking for work. Guess what Andy Reid said Wednesday in his press conference that Eric Enemy spent time with the Chiefs before the
AFC Championship game. He talked with the offensive guy and hung out with us in our meetings. He's still up for a couple of jobs. He couldn't really answer if the Enemy would be part of their staff next season. I guess if he doesn't get a job. But I feel like it's is that should that be allowed? Like you get another coach now on your team and it's a guy that you know.
It's happened before Fangio with the Eagles as a recent that's right example. It is a weird little nether world loophole that that could happen. But ultimately he's just you know, he's just helping out the team he already worked with.
I'm sure he's getting paid for it. Yeah, little consult The Enemy was with the Chiefs from twenty thirteen to twenty twenty two. He was the OC from eighteen to less thought it was interesting how Reid answered.
One part of the question was that they asked would he'd be there next year potentially, just like if all this could shake out. He's like, well, they're in space for him right now. I mean, you can create space for anyone if you want. Yeah, but I think it's you know, it would be intriguing to see him come back, But there are a couple of people on that staff.
I think maybe Reid would rather have the enemy over.
It's like the Patriots. You know, they hired Van out, they hired our old friend. Why am I blanking McAdoo. You know they consulted with Kelly greg like we didn't. We couldn't get the enemy in there for an inner.
Some of these Pats hires. I mean, I don't know, man, And that's coming from a Jets fan. I've my coaching staff has Nate Hackett on it still. But you got Ben, you got Ben in the building. You couldn't bring. It's nice to see you out here. It's good news for the Bills. Put it that way about like a little different, maybe a little bit different. Hey, by the way, finally we have a quarterback from the vaunted QB class of twenty eighteen in a Super Bowl. We haven't talked about
this yet. It's Sam Darnald. Here's a quote from Donald by the way he was approached media night. I always envisioned going deep in the playoffs with New York and being able to make a run at the Super Bowl. Obviously, that's what you dream of as a kid, right when I got drafted by the Jets, and still to this day, it's michael to be able to bring a championship somewhere, and now he has that opportunity as a backup for
the Niners. But I just want to put it out there, Sam got there first twenty eighteen, traft Glass, who got Baker? You got Josh Allen, we got Lamar, we got Josh Rosen. But only one man got there first. Mark Well, this is the most Donald acts to grind that you of your many awkward acxes.
It's interesting that Darnald didn't dream of getting there with the Panthers. He knew that was a failed operation. Look, Sam Darnald, he's a backup quarter. Who know, you might see him in this game like we saw in the championship game last year for Black Party leaving. But he should wear that Super Bowl ring proudly. Once I saw Colleen Wolf introduce war East Jones drew on our network as soon Super Bowl champion Maurice Jones drew, and he
holds them. He holds up the ring and they offered the viewer no context that MJD got it as the broadcast. I was like, Sam Darnol deserves that is.
I never introduce any of our analysts who have won a Super Bowl as Super Bowl winning except MJD because fans get so.
Upset about it.
Amazing.
You were saying more of an inside like troll job.
But he holds it up, and you guys didn't explain it at all. He just holds it up. You know those viral videos of the guy that destroys his TV when a sports team loses. That was Greg after you didn't provide the context.
It's my favorite thing.
I mean, it did make me laugh. I know you're calling it an awkward ax to grind. I'm just these are facts. That's all Mark number one auctional. From an angle, it's you are creating.
You're not creating facts, but you're putting them into a certain stew that tastes a certain way.
And it's delicious. Here we go. Pennsylvany man faces up to four years for illegally flying a drone over the AFC Championship game. Can we not? Can we stop doing this? Why? How many commercial breaks where everyone's confused for a second and the crowd starts booing and the announcers are trying to figure it out, and then the ref finally comes down and goes we are stopping the game for a officials timeout. Is like and you see some people looking up as they go to commercial. It's like, some damn
idiot just flew another drone over a stadium. Go to jail forever. Send a message.
Wow, that's aggressive.
I was gonna go the minute.
Pennsylvania man, so he flew it from Pennsylvania to Baltimore.
That's impressive. It sold so many drones. It's powered on nuclear edergry fly it more. Four years feels a little steep, you know, I think so too.
Our country does imprison more than any country in the world by leaps and bounds and drone and the reason why hang them.
That's what I say.
This is a good ax to grind Dan. Thank you want to go twelve years at least for this guy?
Did you.
Be able to fly him?
Next ten years for commercials? These games are long enough.
Next ten years we're going to be We're gonna be influencers and Dan's gonna become big on capital punishment. That is gonna be his thing.
I'm gonna run for office. My main my main campaign will be about drones and have to be eliminated.
Oh my god, will you please do a campaign ad? Please?
I will? Okay, we got a lot off season, our episodes sket through drones may not fly within three miles of stadiums that seed at least thirty thousand people during NFL games. So there you go. And and relatedly, here's a headline from the New York Post that came out today. Content creator that's awesome on some level. Climbs Las Vegas Sphere in shocking scene to quote raise money for a homeless pregnant woman. Uh this happened today? Wait?
What?
Yes? And there's a guy climb the giant sphere where you who's playing? And I think Fish is there next? And The Grateful Dead and friends Mark? Okay, yeah, like how does what and what crime? This is the crime beat.
I'm saying, why where is the money coming from that he's raising?
Oh oh see, that's a great question.
Well wait, now he could have been on if he's an influencer, he could have been on one of the platforms and people.
You could do it on TikTok or whatever.
And the world that you guys are going into.
The Mark is leading us there?
How do you climb a circle?
That's the best question.
The stories have deeper questions attached to them. How about he's known as the pro life spider Man. You know what, I'm going to bring him along on my campaign to it. Yes, of course you are. I got him, I got your pro spider transforming.
Oh my god.
All right, here we go. And uh that's it. That's what's happening in the news. Anything else to add that you've seen in and around Bobby Game?
Mm hmm No, I mean, I just thought it was interesting that Andy Reid opening Night was asked about foods that he likes and dislikes and he said the only thing he dislikes is liver.
Never had it. I love liver, but what of course you do? And how is it cooked? Like it said to me, absurd like a pat certainly like a rock wall. But liver wished or liver worshed?
Liver?
Liver? Uh No, it's tasty, it's fine. Is it salty? What kind of what is it? What would you know? We're trying to get marked back to this.
There's certain things that it's never tang here, I would say then regularly it's a textra issue that I think I I think it's because my my German grandfather was a liver guy.
So it's just like baked into me. Bill, don't do it, Greg, I know what you want to do.
Super Bowl?
Yeah, let it, you know, just let it.
Everyone.
That's time and place you're doing it. Everybody knows amazing with livers.
I just really need you guys to behave yourselves.
Yeah, this this show is off the rail. All right, We're gonna take one more break and when we come back, we're going to uh have one more conversation about the big game. All right, welcome back. Uh before we go, Uh, this this will this is where we show our bona fides is real football people. This segment is called X factors. Basic bros and lazy ladies aren't even thinking about Yeah, you see, you see how I did that?
What you included women?
Included women? Because that's important.
You know what, it's equal representation we have.
We're we're going after everyone, so there is no one that is safe in this segment.
It's also important, like when you do mention women, that you ask for the credit of mentioning the women.
That that's important. I think, heart and parcel.
It is exactly.
Extremely important that you understand that this this industry of ours, populated by all types of people. I've done it again, So here we go. Let's get into it. So nothing nothing basic, Okay.
Nothing basic, nothing basic, nothing.
Mark Give us something, give us something deeper. What's an X factor for this game?
I love that Colleen mentioned Steve Wilkes. I want to just go from a different angle a little bit that like he called them out like that everywhere that Steve Wilkes has been like win or lose on some of
these teams. Like the thing I keep reading about him is like alpha male, like his power and like absolute vitriol at times in the locker room and in certain speeches to players, and the way he plans like affects the players and like they there was I think tension between Kyle Shanahan and Steve Wilkes this entire season, and you brought them down from the booth to the sideline,
and I think that's made a difference. But then you go and get gash for one hundred and eighty two yard cards on the ground by Detroit in a game that you barely barely won, and your defense would have been the reason you didn't. And it's like we saw that we've become so accustomed under like Demico Ryans and coordinator's past where this defense played at a certain level.
And Wilkes came out of the woodwork this week very strongly and just said nope, not acceptable, and like you can point at the coordinator, but a lot of the players came forward and said in an NFC title game of all games, we did not put forth the right effort, and like that can all sound like locker room nonsense, but I do think that there is I like the kind of that that happened to them. I don't know, it's like a huge piece of metal just fell from the sea.
I don't almost hit the debt.
I don't know was.
That that was concerning but tied into like the fact that they nearly gave their entire season away last week. Like I still have legitimate concerns about their defense, but like, look look at the players. Some of the better players on the defense were not playing up to who they are. So it's like, does that refocus help against Kansas City? And do you not let Kansas City in the first half make a statement and don't let Isaiah Pachaco and others come and rush for one hundred plus yards on you.
Isn't that such a weird because that's been floating around. You've heard that, like the effort wasn't where it was needed to be, not the execution, like and maybe that's just the choice of wording, but if your effort is not all the way there in the NFC title game, why can they always go? And it was the touchdowns.
It was the pursuit on the James and Williams touch and the Jamir Gibbs touchdown. Something's rotten. This is something the lazy lanies is that it ladies, lady ladies, I was just making it, you know, specific to a specific but.
It was too close to ladies.
Yeah, lazy Lisa, Lazy Lisa's lazy Laura and uh.
Bone like weird territory.
Yeah.
Now it's like focused on the women's failures.
I'm saying, and the boneheaded berries. What these people like aren't paying attention? I'm is connected to me?
Is?
I think like we could see Clyde Edwards Hilaire have a big time game. We could see some of the kind of designer runs to the outside that take advantage of what's been kind of a dumb defense, And I think that's what like I get. I guess it's great that you're calling them out and saying the efforts on there, but something's rotten, Like no one's kind of pointed out that this is a bad defense, Like it's been a below average defense and it's not.
It's not like a small sample size.
It's not the two weeks that mattered the most in the season, which are pretty important and they've gotten pushed around and like they're very lucky to still be playing. It's like the six weeks before that. It's the last three games that mattered. Baltimore handed it to him. I can say the Packers handed it to him. The Lions
handed it to him. Most of the stops that they got are just because the Lions dropped the ball or made made mistakes like that is very concerning to me, and I think very specifically it's on the edges of their front and it's even sometimes those linebackers get a lot of pop for being over aggressive. So it's guys they paid a lot of money to it's Armstead. They
brought in Chase Young. I think the Chiefs they don't have to have a meeting and talk about getting their minds right and getting their effort right in a championship game because they're championship material and the forty nine Ers defense, to me, has not been championship material for a while.
But when Steve Wilkes gets that head coaching opportunity, everybody can sit down.
No, I mean, you're exactly right though.
Yeah, well see we've given now both sides of the start. Well, you're right though, if he like.
We want a fair and balanced podcast.
You're right though.
If they have a great game, he's going to get ahead coaching job. That's how that he won't. We're not this year. But I mean in the future he's respected. Well, I'm not.
People will forget everything that happened in the last six to eight to ten weeks. If they have a movie and they have the players to do it.
They have Bosa, they have Hardgrave, the number one free agent, they have all these different all pros.
Connie, how about you?
Okay, I am going with an offense of guard because if we're talking X factor, I feel like the offensive lineman they are always getting overlooked.
It's not fair. And Nick Alligretti, especially.
The interior of that line.
You're right exactly, and especially in the run game because Joe Toney's probably not going to play in this game.
May Allegretti started last week. He's a really good run blocker.
He has lots of experience as a starter for Kansas City in the past. This is a seventh round pick who's only started thirteen games in his entire career, and now he's starting a Super Bowl.
And you listen, the only time we've ever seen the homes look mortal in the playoffs really was that Super Bowl against the Bucks when the line was all beat up and it was a turnstyle. I was thinking, how connected to your point and your point, I don't know if Chase Young has a big time football left in his body at this point. And this is such a huge game for him. Greggie, we've talked about the free agent. He's about to be a free agent, and he's probably
not to get a big contract regardless. But if you could come up with a couple of sacks and do something and be a difference maker, and you got botha on the other side they have, you would think at least the name brand talent, the ability to f up Mahomes and cause havoc. But it just hasn't really happened.
And he's made a couple of plays and they I think they will run on him. You're right with a little allegretty pop. Both of these defenses where they're vulnerable is to the ground game. So it's all this quarterback talk, and yet you could see a lot of rushing yards.
Greg, what's your.
That was mine? I se I just seamlessly.
That was wonderful. We almost partnered. I just felt like it was so connected so well, it felt seamless. It was like Mike and the Mad Dog nineteen ninety five level chemistry. Well, that's territory.
What about a little Jake Moody too.
Ooh yeah, it's a little expector. You just got two in and that's unfair. Why would you do that? Why would you do that to me?
It was a bonus?
Did you?
Was that yours?
Challas? Well, tell us why it didn't even go yet? Tell us why I did. Speaking of mad Dog Chris Russo, now everybody, everybody needs to get Russo on their show. We have always been the true Russo fans our podcast, Yes or No, Greg, we were first to that call. And Mad Dog's going to be on our show on Thursday. Just one of many great guests coming up. I think before he had a late later career like.
Explosion, almost this third act of great there was you know, he was in a different stage in life. He talked to us, to us about that, like we courted him annually on this show, and I think brought the proper respect and understanding and context of who mad Dog is.
He's coming up on Thursday. We're gonna let him know that because we love that man. Am Now, let's go to the Kickers Club. Okay, but nice setup.
Yeah, that's good. That's what I'm here to do.
Now nobody ever talks about this stuff because oh who cares about kickers, as if these guys aren't, in many cases deciding the games. And Jake Moody versus Harrison Bucker is an obvious mismatch here on papers on paper, in terms of experience, in terms of what we've been seeing from each of these guys in recent weeks. Handsomeness hair, I'm not going to go there. That's that's Google real quick. I haven't let us know, yes, let us know if Greg's right.
Oh, he's got great hair.
Just want and no go? Is that what you're saying? No, I could be totally wrong.
I can't even I just think Bucker has great hair, so he's got to outshine Moody anyway.
Bucker, I haven't been tracking this closely. I haven't really seen it. But he's been locked in. He's made his last fifteen kicks, the field goal kicks. He's been perfect on Pat's are we looking now?
I'm just on an image search for his hair.
Moody's fine. Moody's fine in terms of what we've seen from each of the guys in recent week. Butcker has made He's been automatic. Of course, he made the game winner Connie last year against the Eagles chip Shop, but still with the super Bowl on the line, big deal Moody. You know you hear the whispers and the way he was spoken about on the telecast that you wonder if there's been some concerns about if he's cut out for the stage. He missed the field goal in each playoff
game leading to this. He missed a p eighteen Week eighteen. He's never kicked in the stadium. Yeah, that's a little that matters.
It feels like the stadium though. It's like a nice control.
Butcker's done it many times. Are multiple times at this point. But I will say this for Moody, although, Butcker is the guy that trusts way more to make a big kick on Sunday like the quarterback. I think Moody did show something in the NFTY title game because he could have spun out after missing that early kick, and instead he locked in and he was piping it. I made everything after that. So does that carry over to the new biggest game in his life. He's obviously has a
high pedigree. He came in as a hot shot draft pick.
I think he got drafted so highly, specifically because he hit so many big time kicks in the in the biggest Michigan games, like in the college football playoffs, it has an all time kick.
So maybe that those big game memories, so that that is something to keep an eye on and how the kickers impact the game, because I have no concerns about Bucker. He's shown that he is nails. He's to me a top three kicker in the league and he has been for several years now. Just another element of the Chiefs, by the way, like there's a balance they it's not just my homes. They've really built out. Credit to that organization and in all the phases. All right, there we go.
So that's that's the first show of Super Bowl Week here from Radio Row Again. We'll be back on Thursday, two days coming up, and then back on Friday with our last show, more guests, more fun and then uh and then we have a couple of days or we have a good time. Yeah, ed wolves intown.
He sure is about to be in town this lady here.
Oh yeah, oh you mentioned he went to your airplane. Greg and I both spoke to him before we started today. Proud Papa. Yes, the man has much flight experience. Himself, but they never went nine. Gee's like his little girl. How about that? Yeah, it's pretty cool, cool, pretty cool. So anyway, and then on Sunday night, of course, we will have full coverage of Super Bowl fifty eight. So that's it. Hit the music, Eric, and there's that Sam
Spence Music Championship Chase. That's what it's all about, Greg, there can only be one, the beautiful thing. Thank you to Eric right there, who did perfect work today until Thursday he the call