And the Rams gonna take away.
He playclock, getting short Darnold back to his end zone, sets the laces, pitches, pitch.
Shot, game over.
Game over Byron Young with a safety agent zero calls game FoST Thursday Night Football.
Welcome to NFL Daily. That was the great JB.
Long of k SPN in Los Angeles, not only on the call, but on the show.
Still at the stadium. I made it my way through.
Traffic, got to the car very quickly, drove home, and he's still on a high after one of the most fun Thursday night football games of the year.
JB.
Long, the radio play by play man of the Rams. Welcome to NFL Daily. Wow, I can feel like I got to take a breath here on a night of offense. Yes, we finished there on the defense. Thanks buddy for joining me. I know it's a long day.
Good to see you. A couple of things.
One, I have commandeered someone's office just off the press box here at SOFI Stadium. Thankfully, there is not a lick of any kind of decoration on the wall. This is clearly not occupied, so I feel like it was designated for this purpose. Good on you for beating me home and Secondly to all the Vikings listeners, Yes, I did clean up that call by saying blatant face mask. They missed it, the game should be continuing. I get it. I feel your pain. We talked with Byron Young after
the game. He actually you could see like he was in dismay, his hands covering his face, not celebrating that game winning sack, but fearing the penalty marker that he figured must have been down in the end zone. He actually thought it was a horse collar, not a face mask. But same difference. Tough break, tough break for the now five and two Vikings.
Yeah, you know, I was up there in the three hundred section. No clue there was a face mask. In fact, I had no idea until our great producer Eric Roberts is putting together the show. Told me as I'm coming into the house, hey, I have sound on them talking about the face mask after the game, I was like, what face mask was that?
We did not see that.
From from up in the not so cheap seats, but the medium the medium seats. Actually, let's let's listen to Kevin O'Connell. You know, if we're if we're talking about already, let's listen to him after the game talking about the face mask.
You know, it looked like you got a pretty good amount of face mask there. Not going to get into you know, the call or no call and all that stuff. It's just I told our team officiating and all that stuff. For us to talk about that, for us to seek comfort in that is not how we're going to respond to this. It's just not going to happen. And I'm
gonna do the same thing right now. I really don't have a comment on whether it was it looked like you got a piece of the face mask, but they didn't think so, so they didn't throw the flag.
Yeah, So it feels unfortunate almost start on this because let's be real, they had the entire length of the field to go at that point, no timeouts under it would have been a minute forty on the clock, and they had not scored a touchdown since the first quarter, two punts that disastrous end of half, a couple plays where they lost their left tackle Christian Darisaw, a couple field goal drives to start the second half, and then a punt in a really crucial situation in the fourth quarter.
So the way the Rams pass rush was getting after the Vikings. I was not particularly confident JB at that point in the game that they were necessarily gonna drive down the field and hit the two point conversion. But I guess I can understand why Vikings fans would be a little salty.
I think you rightly highlighted one of the major pivot points in that game, which was Derisaw going down at left tackle. Because the Rams have done all sorts of, you know, bad things this season in all three phases.
The kicking game in particular has been shaky lately, the defense has been porous at times, the offense has been spinning its wheels, but the absolute one constant has been the pressure that the Rants have been able to generate upfront, primarily with rookies and second year pass rushers, Byron Young being one of them. Jared Verse, I mean, he's leading all rookies in pressure rate, and I think that was apparent again today and especially down the left tackle.
Sam Darnold really felt that.
Let me ask, were you surprised at the field goal on fourth down and plus territory at minus four to get to minus one? I saw a couple of algorithms had that as a good decision like a slight lean to kicking it, which I was surprised.
That felt like a go for it for me and o Common took the points.
So you know, I was sitting in the crowd. Of course, my family is decked out in Rams gear. I'm not going to pretend I'm totally unbiased in this situation. You're wearing literally Rams logo as we're doing this interview. Check us out on YouTube. You can see JB's you and some mug there. I think fans and I think there's something to this, are always relieved when there's a field
goal attempt there. So in that situation, the way their defense was playing, I thought they should go for the touchdown because I just assumed they're gonna need a touchdown to win this game. One field goal is not going to be enough because the odds in my mind are, and I know this is a good Vikings defense, but the odds in my mind are that they're gonna need a touchdown at some point because the Rams are going
to get at least a field goal back. We know that they ended up going on a touchdown drive, which was, you know, maybe the rams best touchdown drive of the season, and Let's get off the end of that game, because I feel it was a little beside the point.
Let's talk about Cooper Cup.
Returning to the field, Puka Nakua surprisingly returning to the field, and this Rams offense kind of changing the feeling of this entire season in one night. And I want to take you back actually to a specific moment in the game. And it wasn't that touchdown drive. It wasn't any of the touchdown drives. It was about three thirty six, I believe,
left to go third and nine. The Rams are trying to run out the clock, and you know what play I'm talking about, right, the deep pass three twenty six to go and in the stadium being able to see the angle on that throw that Matthew Stafford made to Cooper Cup for twenty seven yards to force the Vikings to take their third time out and then they got
to kill more clock. When he let go of that ball, I'm thinking, that pass that's not there like that he was fitting it between a couple different defenders in zone coverage.
That was absolute total.
Trust between two guys who have played in the biggest of moments, and even in that moment, because Cup had kind of an up and down game. I would say, obviously made some big plays, I'm worried, and then to see Cup make the right angle for the ball, know what his quarterback is doing, come back for it, and all that trust that Stafford had to me, that was. That was such a big moment in the season and
the game for the Rams. And I know a lot happened after that, but that was absolutely telling on a night where the Rams kind of looked like the Rams that we've seen from the last couple of years.
Again, I'm just shaking my head at all the incredible moments that the Rosenthal family has witnessed for the Los Angeles Rams here at SOFI Stadium, and many of them have centered around the great receivers Pukinnakua and especially Cooper Cup.
Am I wrong?
No, you're not, You're not wrong. My daughter got to go to the Super Bowl.
She was solo, crazily enough with our friend, and you're absolutely right. I don't want to people are going to be annoyed how how freaking biased we are or sounding on this, because I am truly not a Rams scene,
but that that was. I love seeing great football and that was a great moment and a night full of them for Stafford, and Cup had his moments too, but I just thought that was that was telling on a night where yeah, Cup makes a mental mistake a couple of plays later by going out of bounds, but it really stuck with me as as just an impressive play of trust and like something to build off on a night that we went into JB. Sorry to keep honking, but we went into people wondering like, is this Cooper
Cup's last game as a Ram? And he catches that touchdown in the first half and he makes that plan and I'm thinking, there's no way it's his last game as La Ram.
Well, here's why I think it's significant. We're not here to throw too many flowers on the still sub five hundred Los Angeles Rams, right, But what we are here, I think to highlight is the fact that the NFC West has a bunch of teams piled together with three or in the other three cases four losses, and so
that division is still wide open. And if the Rams play like this, coming off the night where they put up a season high point total, a season high yards per play, their most explosive touchdown of the season, which is still.
Moder Tood only twenty five yards.
That changes the dynamic of the entire NFC playoff picture, whether you're talking about the wild card bubble or who's going to get a home playoff game coming out of the West. Now we're not through the month of October yet, but that's part of why this is significant is, Yes, there were trade rumors swirling, and we heard all of them. But the Rams get their key pieces back on offense,
they all produce. It looks completely different. You pair it with an emerging defense that's now scored on that side of the football and put together a pretty good effort three games in a row. It shapes not just the course of the Rams season, but the entire NFC. And guess where the Rams go next after they put their feet up and watch red Zone all day Sunday, Right while the Seahawks host the Bills, while the forty nine ers host the Cowboys coming off of bye, while Arizona
goes to Miami. The Rams get ready with this mini by to go take their first swing against the Seattle Seahawks. And that's right before the trade deadline.
And if the Seahawks lose that game, their home underdogs to the Bills. They would be tied in the lost column with the forty nine ers and the Rams and the Cardinals, depending on if the Cardinals can pull off that game Sunday. So we're just starting this NFC West race. But I do think it took a win tonight to feel like the Rams were in it, because they were.
They were a one in four team, and even that one felt like a little bit of a miracle, and they were competitive, but they didn't play particularly well last week against the Raiders. And you see in this game, pukin Akua comes out. They target him for the first couple plays of the game. He's absolutely explosive. He looks like the old Puka Akua. I know it was a very brief Week one appearance from him, but the little
that we saw, that's right Walker Pukinica. That does rule tonight seven for one oh six in this game, and you're like, oh yeah, this team is totally different with Puka as the one and Cup as the two, which also sets up to Marcus Robinson, who I got to see from my view have single coverage on the outside all night long, and then he's suddenly the third or in fact, let's listen to a great call on Stafford's second touchdown, UH to DeMarcus Robinson by one JB.
Long.
You could try to do it live, JB. But we're actually going to listen to the recorded copy.
Ready for a shotgun snap with three? Here it is Vikings bring three, Stafford will protect it. He drills one white.
Side and soon cat DeMarcus Robinson with his second of the half. He flings it into the stands and Sean Mackhew Stafford because four.
Tonight, great call there, JB.
Uh.
Figured that was the one we were going to lead the show with. But then then you know the safety happened. How are you doing energy wise here? Because you know I drove home through traffic. You've already done the postgame show right with with Sean McVay.
Yes, and you did. He'd the call.
They called you up two and so you didn't a Mark and Dan and so you've got to be tapped out right now.
Now, I'm good.
The adrenaline rush is still pretty sky high because I'm just so happy for these guys. Right, Like Matthew Stafford came in with three total touchdown passes through six games, like by far the lowest of his career, he was one of twelve I think on throws to the end zone coming into this game like it's just not been his year because of all the circumstances around him.
But he's also that guy.
That's capable and we've seen him do it of elevating the circumstances of the other ten in his huddle, and tonight for the first time, it felt right. It felt like the plan the Rams front office and coaching staff had drawn up for this season, which was to lead with the offense, because that's where all the investment is, right, that's where the all.
The accomplishment is.
So to see him use his mobility on and off platform tonight, to see him throw from all arm angles, had the one bad interception, but to throw for four touchdowns. And here's the other thing, to use all of his targets.
Greg.
You know from watching this team at times they can become too locked in on Cooper Cup almost spanning him with targets. What I loved about the Rams approach tonight is that they used all their eligibles. They platoon personnel packages, they used two and three tight end sets. Even though Cup and Nakua were back, they still used DeMarcus Robinson
and Tyler Johnson in two two at well. I thought that was meaningful, and I think that's a big reason why Matthew Stafford was not sacked by the best defense in the National Football League, even though he's being peppered coming into this game at the second highest rate of his career. Like that is the most important takeaway from tonight is how well he clicked through his progressions and
how well they protected him. And I can't help but think that Cup and Nakua impact that not just with their threats in the passing game, but because they're so productive in the running game, like Kiren goes for another touchdown and over one hundred from scrimmage. You watch some of the blocks that Pouka Nakua throws in that game. They've been dearly missing that for over a month now.
Man, they really pulled fast one on everyone because Puka Nikoa was ready to go. No one thought he was playing this week. It just kind of came out of nowhere. Interesting, you know, they did a good job on that. I'll just put you're not saying that. I'm saying that that like usually you have a clue that that's coming the Vikings probably did not have a clue that that was coming, and he was a massive part of the game plan. And you're absolutely right you could see him being a
factor in the running game. Kyrien Williams had a great day running for ninety seven yards on the ground. There was a particular play it actually set up that touchdown that we just heard. I thought it was an interesting call second in eleven. They'd run the ball a lot on that touchdown drive it wasn't working quite as well. They lose a yard on first down second and eleven.
There's some groans up in the in the crowd here and I'm like, they're gonna run it again here, and they do, and Cooper Cup kind of gets, you know, does not have a great block, gets absolutely knocked over on the play, to the point where Kyron Williams has to use his incredible lateral agility to hop to the side of Cooper Cup to pick up seven yards and it puts them in a really favorable down and distance third and four. So that that was a little bit
of everything. Kyron is such an underrated runner. Let's listen to McVeigh actually after the game talking about the journey ahead and just getting these guys back from this game.
I'm excited about this journey ahead. And you know, we've learned a lot about people in these first seven weeks. We've had to go through a lot of different things relative to new faces playing that maybe we didn't expect. And then it's great to be able to get some of the cavalry back and I think we'll start to see that over the next couple of weeks. And we got to be able to hit the ground running and we got a great challenge, you know, next week.
And while we're here, you had Sean McVay on, you know, your broadcast after the game.
How was that?
Yeah, he was elated.
I mean he was happy for all the key individuals, some of which we've highlighted, and the fact that they finally put together a total team effort offense, defense and special team's mistake free. That's the result that they've been hunting up in the fashion that they've been wanting to execute. Here's a little context too. On his night, that's his eightieth career win okay, regular season, postseason combined with it, he goes past John Robinson for sole possession of the Rams wins record.
Okay, Wow.
He and John Madden are the only two men post merger to do that before their fortieth birthday. And speaking of birthdays, today is his son's Jordan's first birthday, all right, So for the rest of his life, he's going to be the winningest coach in Rams history. And he got the signature victory and I gotta have it moment on Thursday night football primetime against the Vikings at home.
With the Madden Cruiser out front, by the way, I.
Got some nice call bag, nice call for my.
Son on the way back.
That's crazy because you know the Rams, it's not like, oh, he's winning this coach since they moved back to LA or the version of LA if we're not counting Saint Louis. The Rams have been around for like seventy years or something. That's it's pretty amazing that that he has that mark. And uh yeah, congrats, congrats to Sean McVay there. I thought he had a really good night. You I'm glad you pointed out the pass protection because I left the game thinking, so the Rams won.
You know, everyone's going to talk.
About Cooper Cup and Pukunakua coming back with good reason.
I just did.
But They won in large part because they had great pass protection and they had really good run defense after the first quarter, like the Vikings were held I think under three yards per carry. Aaron Jones was at three point one, and you know Darnold had a couple scrambles for less, so they're under three yards per carry. That is not Those are the two things you thought were the worst about this Rams team. So I do think
that's it's just one game. But I do think excelling at the things you've struggled the most at against equality, competition, equality, running games, certainly in equality. You know, pass rush is has to feel really good, and I think McVeigh has to feel like, man, I played a big role in this. You know, I don't know, he probably doesn't want to think like that. But early on in this game, I
thought they had those quick hitters to Puka. They're rolling in those first two drives, running the ball and with Puka, and it really got Flores to back off all the crazy stuff that he does. And I thought they played kind of vanilla the rest of the game, like they blitzed a couple times, like they you know, they certainly showed some interesting formations, but mostly Stafford wasn't worrying about it when they did and would get rid of the.
Ball quickly like that.
The first Robinson touchdown was just like a quick, quick decision against pressure, and McVeigh and Stafford together kind of had all the right answers against a tough defense.
Yeah, I'm going to take it back to the defense if I can, because you highlight something there that I think is worth underscoring, which is the Rams did have one of their better nines. Like they give up two touchdowns on those first two drives, only six points the rest of the way, and they do it on a night where they put their green dot linebacker Troy Raider on injured reserve, Like that was the corresponding move to
activate Pukinakua now Here in Los Angeles. The off ball linebacker play has, let's just say not, been the favorite portion of the program in the Rams season so far. Many fans have been clamoring for a change there. Omar States, an undrafted rookie linebacker steps into that fray. Jake Hummel, a backup stipe steps into that fray. But I think you really have to highlight the effort of Quinton Lake, who's a defensive captain and it's just made outrageous maybe
potential game saving tackles. The last two games against the Raiders and now the Vikings here tonight, their improvement has been marked.
They've scored on defense three straight games now.
But I think the most important thing to highlight is in the post Aaron Donald universe, they are getting more pressure on opposing pockets than they did in the last two years of the Goats career.
Like that cannot be overemphasized.
That the plan they laid in place to prepare for post Aaron Donald rams, whether it drafting Kobe Turner and Byron Young more recently Jared Vers and Braden Fisk, like all those first and second year guys are delivering. And that's not a bad place to hang your hat moving forward for an inexperienced defense that's going to have some roller coaster moments, and having Darius Woman's back healthy, you know, sets that secondary right.
He's their best worn in.
It shows they don't need to be a shutdown defense. They haven't been for many stretches during the mcveighra They just need to be good enough and the offensive line and the offense needs to take them home, and they haven't been finishing plays, have been creating a lot of pressure, but not necessarily finishing getting enough stops. You know, tonight they finished some of those plays too. Jared Verse with the second half getting a couple of quarterback kids. Jared
Versus is a really fun young player to watch. They really hit on one. He's so strong, and when Darisaw went out, I really felt for the Vikings because he's an All Pro caliber player, and they absolutely stonewalled the Rams in the first quarter. It definitely started changing the second quarter. So it wasn't all just darrisol leaving, but the second he left, they were almost, you know, fighting over who who got to go against you know, his backup.
Quizenberry and Byron Young had some good snaps, but Jared Verse especially was getting pressure after pressure, hit after a hit, and just driving him back. And those are my kind of pass rushers, maybe not the fancy ones, but like the Jenevian Clowney types. When Clowney was at his best, who's just stronger than the guy you know across from him, and versus that guy, and he has such a motor. I was really keeping an eye on Verse all night
and when he wasn't on the field. They just don't have as much juice like he is that important for them. If you're watching on YouTube, you can see how the lights go off because because JB hasn't moved. But I'm just gonna keep talking, which is pretty normal here on NFL Daily.
You fixed it.
Good job, dav good save. Yeah, the motion didn't do it. I had a hop up up and actually press the button again. We should be good for another fifteen minutes or so.
All right, let's take a quick break and we'll be back in just a second. Let's knock a little viking. I'll circle back a little bit in a second. But you know, they start out this game getting two touchdowns in the first two drives. Donald has all the time in the world in the pocket. I kept writing down in my notes, you know, just pick. He could just pick whoever he wanted to. There was like two or three guys open on every play. And you haven't seen the coverage bus out of the rams the last couple
of weeks that you saw early. But there were open receivers because they weren't getting pressure and everything is rolling, and justin Jefferson is starting out fast. He ends up with eight for one point fifteen. You know, what do you think it was that changed for them? And what they've done so well for most of this season is keeping Darnold mostly com I don't think he had a bad game tonight. It wasn't really on him. He didn't have the ball aton either in the second half. That was part of it.
No, I was super impressed with Kevin O'Connell's script or dirty dozen or whatever it was to open that game, because they drove down the field twice, locked in and rightly so on justin Jefferson right, The Rams just played a Raiders team that traded away one of the best receivers in football, Devonte Adams before they came to so far, and then five days later, like literally the best receiver on the planet steps into your office and you got to contend with that, and you felt that difference, You
felt that mismatch. But then when they got in those tight red areas, they went to their secondary right, they didn't throw the touchdown passes to Jefferson. They threw it to Josh Oliver and what trent sherfield right, like kind of the misdirection using the decoy of Jefferson it was a beautiful game plan, and Aaron Jones, you know, running pass continues to have a great season. There's a lot of a lot of good there. I'm sure Rams did make some adjustments in their secondary to try and take
that first read away. But I think the subject that we just touched on the pressure and the discomfort in the pocket probably the biggest thing. By the way, just to circle back before that that field goal conversation we talked about earlier.
They should have had a touchdown.
Like Donold does well to duct the initial Russ attacks the line of scrimmage, hits I think Jalen Naylor over the middle, he just drops it. Otherwise that's a touchdown. It's a completely different game. I think that was one of the pivot points, a missed opportunity there for the Vikings to get their third touchdown.
See that's what live.
I should have watched the replay on the big Jumbo John because I did not realize that was a drop tho. That was like a good defensive player.
It was just tight there.
See this is why I want to listen to more JB Long calls. But I just feel like this is the ultimate, you know, radio play by play on radio play by play, rivalry matchup, maybe a revenge game.
JB. Long I don't know. After he came in second last year on the Calls of the Year.
Now it wasn't too Paul Allen, but Paul Allen has probably won it before and as an annual contender. So let's listen to Paul Allen's call of Justin Jefferson's crazy catch down the sideline in the second half.
Darnold thirteen of sixteen one forty six and two. He's out of the shotgun on first down, puts Josh Oliver in motion to the right, Sam back to.
Pass Pate left at about the ten. It's Paul, hold, are you kidding me? Can by just are you.
Just saying hit the fuve yard line?
Pease?
Putting on a show right.
Next to the Holy One. That was a good call. Put that on the Calls of the Year list. I like that a lot.
Paul Allen and Pete Bursus, here's what you need to take you over the top, Taby. You need MJD to start yelling out in the middle of the play. Oh he's got it, you know, I can't believe that sort of stuff. We need that you know, we need the more homerism from MGD.
Poor MJD was so jet coming back from London on Sunday. I think he was only half there. He brought it with full force tonight and it was great. I love Paul Allen. What's cool about that play is it was coming right to us.
Right.
We're kind of situated back left pylon, North End Zona Sofi Stadium, and I was chatting with Paul Prie game and he was showing me the big binoculars that he uses to call the game and howl the balls in the air.
He'll kind of move the spot to find the target.
And I would love to know how that one looked from his vantage point, because it was so close to him that he probably didn't even need the binoculars. But man, what a joy he is to listen to. And I know he's just real with every moment he gets to have. Justin Jefferson wearing purple.
Well, he's not thrilled tonight.
This Vikings team, some of their fans, I mean, they were way more down on Darnold locally, like some of the fans after the last couple of weeks than you would have expected. Now, I did think he played pretty poorly two straight weeks, including the Jets game in London. But I thought he played well last night, I mean tonight, and then I thought he played well last week. That
loss against the Lions was not on him. Although that makes me think of what Colleen was saying on our preview show on Tuesday talking about this game the Lion. The post playing the Lions phenomenon is real. You play the Lions, you lose the following week. Every single week, and a lot of them are are games where the
team was favored. I maybe do think there is something to that that it's such a physical team going up against the Lions, and it's a mental challenge too, that there maybe is a little bit of a physical and mental letdown. Of course, in this case, they're also going on the road on a Thursday night, which is.
Yeah, on the road on a short week.
Maybe the Lions are like the Service Academy of the National Football League. You know in college football, when you have to play a triple option team and you pour into that it's completely different than your normal game plan and you can get over the hum great, but then it's often the team you play next that beats you.
Because you're all banged up and exhausted.
So it's been the case with the forty nine Ers in recent years, and I thought there is something to that because they are the biggest, most physical team in the league. And so yeah, the Vikings now at five and two in the NFC North, which is the best division in football. It's crazy, and they have the win over the Packers, but the Packers will have the extra game on them, and it's like, yeah, they could be in fourth, third place by the end of the weekend,
TI tied for last place. Actually, if the Bears win this game. It is something that division. It is such a different scenario than the Rams, where like, if you're the Vikings and all these teams, you're going to be playing on the road in the playoffs unless you can somehow go ahead and find a way to win. And the Rams, you know, through nothing they've done at three and four, are almost in just as good a spot to try to win their division.
Obviously tough division, and they're just starting, just starting to play each other. I mean, you probably remember when all those you know, records were being said. You know, all these teams with only one loss and the point differentials like Okay, but they've only played headhead once and they very well may be the best division in the football. But now they're going to start to have to face each other. But the sensitivity about the quarterback is real.
I get it.
It's a tough division to play and to compete in. It's a tough division to be a quarterback game when you're looking around at your peers and it's an ascending Caleb the number one pick, Jared Goff playing at an MVP level in Jordan Love, that's tough company.
Now, I'm not going to let Donald totally off the hook here because, Okay, the sack, you know, probably should have been a face master or should have been a face mask. But he did hold the ball too long on that play. That's it, a big spot. That wasn't that quick of pressure. And then the sack that he took that verse got the half sack. I forget who got the other half there? Who finished off the play where Sam Donald holds the ball a long time on
the play and then runs absolutely straight backwards. Again, if you're watching on YouTube, you can see JB. Long holding up his detailed notes what is it for this?
This is my call sheet?
And One of the notes that I had from next Gen was that Donald has stayed in the pocket for three point zero seven seconds on average this season, longer than any other quarterback. Yeah, and also a handful of fumbles where I think some opposing defenses, especially guard to guard have been able to get pressure on him and tee off on him. And those those turnovers I guess are piling up now.
Yeah, and he's always taken too many sacks. And yeah, that was Michael Hoyt who had the other half sack on that plane. Those were two negative plays. There weren't a ton. I do not think that that was his problem. And actually Stafford and Darnold, because they're showing the next Sten stats at the stadium, we're getting rid of the ball quite quickly for most of the game.
It was. It was more towards the end that he held on to it.
Can I before I lose the thread? Can I add one more thing?
T J.
Hockinson being an active pregame was almost as good a news as pookin Nakua being active for the Rams. Like I think when Hawkinson gets back in there, that has the potential to do for the Vikings offensively. What Cup and Nakua did for the Rams offensively tonight, Like he's just such a huge asset, and the Rams have had difficult times with opposing tight ends, including rock Powers most recently.
I don't think you can overstate just how big of a scratch that was for Hawkinson not quite ready to rejoin the Vikings offense.
Yeah, that's a good call.
And the expectation because they are going to have to activate him by rule I believe on Friday, is that he will play next week.
That he was close to playing this week.
And maybe they're wondering who Maybe we shouldn't have been safe, but I give I give them a credit for you know, it's a long season we've seen with the Rams, for instance, like making sure that Pooka is all the way back before getting him out there.
It was absolutely huge.
Speaking of Puka, let's as we listen to McVeigh talking Puka after the game.
This guy's mindset, his mentality, he's a war daddy, he's a stud I got you know. I love his play, energy and what he brings. He was ready to go tonight and he made a big impact on the game.
Ward daddy, what does that mean?
Warded on the hierarchy of Sean McVay compliments, that's either one or one A right next to he's a G. When Sean McVay says he's a G or he's a ward dad, that is the utmost praise.
What about sixty percent G? Is that like? That's I guess that's not all the way there.
Oh yeah, I would love to hear him call you that.
I don't know that that's made his way into Sean's repertoire, but that is a great little inside nod the two of us.
No, I don't believe he's aware of me, although he did. He always did the trick where he would remember Dan Mark and I's name and Chris's name when we would interview him a couple of times early on.
So so I still don't think he would be aware of me.
All right, before, before we let you go, I'm going to make you feel uncomfortable and make you listen to one more of your calls at least, I really maybe we'll bring in Eric here. We have the first Robinson touchdown, which was I think the throw of the night in the Play of the Night really important. I think DeMarcus Robinson comes back for the long touchdown. We also have the Cooper Cup touchdown where where Stafford ducks below the defender.
They're both good, but Eric.
Oh, I gotta tell you go for the cup one. If for no other reason, then I know you're a tennis guy.
Okay.
And Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford both enjoyed tennis, actually played tennis together in the offseason, and McVeigh told me afterwards that that Stafford looked like a Carlos al Karatz, you know, dodging the rush there.
Okay, Eric, I brought you in, but I guess JP has made the choice for you.
I like.
I like the Dodgers jersey you have on here, of course, representing the hometown team, you know, heading into the World Series. I did think it was cool the final minute of the game they just had on the huge you know, JumboTron over everyone good luck in the World Series.
Al did butcher it a little bit, but we did get the obligatory Clayton Kershaw and Matthew Stafford were nice called him Curtis Clayshaw on the broadcast, so that did get brought up on the game. But yeah, big sports weekend LA.
So here close up all right here. Let's listen.
Stafford has a snap four man rush. Pressure in his face, goes out the left side ducks the rush. Look to the.
Cut cut cooker cup from Matthew Stafford Prime Time edition of nine and Time.
Ah, that's good stuff that.
Your audience has definitely quit on us, Greg, what.
Everyone's listening? You know?
Actually I heard I've had some of the you know, I had the the Saints block party guys on.
I've heard from people it's like.
You should have more of just like the local people on after these Thursday night games.
It's great.
You really get the inside, you get the emotion, you get the feeling. And yeah, there were some emotions when that when that touchdown happened, that was the kids started going crazy. At that point. That was where I think they started to believe Ellis is. Ellis always believes, she is a true believer. She's thought they're good, she always
thinks they're gonna win the Super Bowl. But they are sometimes critical of Stafford and they were like, oh, he finally didn't just like fall over, you know, when he's getting sacked. I'm like, look, he's he's thirty six years old. They're thirty five years old. He's pretty athletic getting out out of the way. You know, they think he should evade, you know, more defenders. But that was they made Ellis proud there.
He made it proud.
Well good.
I'm glad they can rest easy tonight and the best of Matthew Stafford is surely still to come.
Okay, I like that. Yeah.
I think I never bought the Stafford in season trade rumors, which weren't even really rumors. They were just like random people throwing stuff out there. There was no reporting behind that. Never really bought that. I think the Cup situation was different because, look, we've reported at NFL Network that they were listening, that they were open to it, Jordan Rodrigue at The Athletic, who obviously does a great job on our show to report it as well, so it wasn't
just coming out of nowhere. I think a night like tonight really confuses that. And not like he was out there looking insanely athletic, but just that he has more value ultimately to the Rams, I think, than he's going to have to any other team. And if you're trying to make the playoff and go making a run, you're gonna want to do it. You're gonna do it. Want to do it with nine and ten? Like you're gonna do it with both of them. It kind of be crazy not to am I wrong.
It's an elite partnership.
And I'm not a big counting stats guy in this era of quarterbacking, but the fact that he goes past Marino for ninth on the all time list for completions tonight is significant. That was called out by McVeigh, who actually gave Matthew the game ball in the postgame locker room, and Matthew turned around and gave it right back to the all time winning its head coach of the Lost Angeles.
Oh good, good nugget love that before we go.
And by the way, it's it is kind of crazy because Cup Cup has a hold on this audience. Todd Gurley was there tonight. It kind of reminds me of Todd Gurley. Todd Gurley was just such a fan favorite.
And you know when they had him on the jumbo tron, they show all the number thirties for Todd Gurley all around the stadium and there's a ton of ton of them and you just see so many cups like you see more cups than Staffords now in you he's been here longer so and I get it, but it's just he has that connection, so I think that that is part of it too. I'm gonna make like the dumbest, smallest, totally not relevant to what we've been talking about point
to end here just because it annoys me. And I just am so sick of Sean McVay and Kevin O'Connell's attitude towards the kickoff and the touchback rule is not working. I get it, like with some coaches it's not working. It's worth it with coaches that actually want to compete and like want to try to improve their field position, because when you do kick it off and it doesn't go into the end zone, they're actually averaging like four
yards better field position. So basically these coaches are deciding, like, we can't compete, we can't coach that up well enough, so we're gonna give up those extra four yards. But I'm especially annoyed about it having been at the stadium because other stadiums do this too. But you know, the Rams have their own version where it's it's the Rampede.
It's like, get everyone super juiced up before the the you know, the game's arts, and there's you know, crazy rams with like you know, glowing eyes, and then there's you know, the lady on the guitar who's going crazy rita whatever it is, like ripping her guitar, and the whole stadium is screaming like crazy, and then there's like a touchback.
And then we just like wait a minute, and it's just like a.
Bad product, Like this is an entertainment product, and so it's just stupid. The whole thing's stupid. We should do it after the touchback. Actually we should do. Tell Kevin Demoff or whoever is making these decisions, JB, if you can talk to do Rampede after the touchback, because Sean McVay has decided I'm giving up on that particular portion of football, like I'm not going to compete at that.
That's by ramp You can step off the soapbox. That was well done and listen for anyone who's still with us. If you survived three of my in game calls tonight and you were blessed to hear the brilliant future Hall of Famer Paul Allen, and you made it all the way to that pearl of wisdom from Ray Rosenthal.
Hit us up tomorrow morning. Let it snow. I'll retweet you.
I I think you're gonna You're gonna get a lot of people, and I think people agree with me. It's stupid, like this should be a great and there is something I would love to ask, like a poorly worded question to one of these coaches, like like that, because to me, actually there is a level of what they talk about, like competing and getting better and this and that, and they're just like there is some something that strikes me.
It's like they've decided not to compete, because tonight these are two coaches that just decided like we're not even gonna mess with that. We were just gonna give up the field position.
So okay, i'll stop.
Mcveigh's on the competition committee. Maybe you'll have a say about it in the future, perhaps as soon as this offseason.
That's a good call.
I mean, they'll probably move it to the to the thirty five coming out to just make the coaches do it.
JB.
Long, We've kept you long enough a long night at Sofi Stadium, but the traffic is gone now you can get out nice and smooth at this point.
I mean, the automated lights haven't even gone off for the second time, so I feel like you were well within your allotted time.
Greg.
It was It was an absolute pleasure. It was a fun day at the stadium. It was a fun day. I actually pre taped our pick show, so you will hear that on Friday with Cynthia Friedelan. I'll give all my Week eight picks. And there was some drama. Someone from my family, maybe multiple members, were escorted out of the building. You're gonna have to listen on Friday to find out who, how and why. And Yeah, when the Rosenthals are getting kicked out of NFL media, you know football is back.