And now Move the Sticks with Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks.
What's up, everybody.
Welcome to move the Sticks, DJ, Bucky and Rhett As. We had a chance yesterday to dig into a lot of the changes that were made around the league. Today we're getting back to football, get a chance to really dig in on these playoff matchups. Cannot wait to get these games here and looking forward to chatting about what we expect in those contests.
So that's the ground we're going to cover here today on mo the Sticks.
Before we look forward, guys, let's look back real quick.
Buck.
We haven't had a.
Chance to catch up on this one, but the Lions, in a game that looks more lopsided than it really was, they take care of the Minnesota Vikings thirty one to nine. Some late scores, some red zone failures for the Vikings. Sam Darnold seems to be the kind of the punching bag on this one. But what was your takeaway after digging into it?
Takeaway Man Dan Campbell, then his coaching staff, they're fearless. We can talk about the Andrew and all that other stuff, but it doesn't change the expectation that they have within that building they expect and whin they expect to play at the championship level, And the game plan that they featured against the Minnesota Vikings suggested they have the ultimate confidence in their players on defense, in particularly, they're going
to go man to man. And even though there were some double teams and brackets and those things that were cleverly hidden, they challenged the Minnesota Vikings one on one on the outside press covers, very aggressive in their approach, and then they doubted depression to go as Sam Donald.
And even though Sam Donald had been one.
Of the best in the league this season, against the Blitz, the lines were undeterred and they were able to get away from it. But I'm gonna say this, if this was a baseball game, there were a lot of long foul balls. They better make sure if they play them again, if they play them again, they better make sure that those things don't go inside the foul pole, because as lopsided as it was in Detroit's favor, it could be the other way the next time they match up if they don't tighten up the coverage.
Well. Look, the thing that I would say is Aaron Glenn.
Deserved that reception that he got at the at the Pistons Arena.
He was on it.
In this game, fourteen plays in the red zone for the Vikings, zero red zone touchdowns. They clouded the picture and made made Sam Donold question his process and then you know, held it just long enough for the pressure then to get there. That was I thought, a masterclass in dealing with a very good offense and a very good offensive scheme that Kevin O'Connell puts out there every
week and puts into the hands of Sam Donald. And now if you are the Vikings, and we'll get into this here in a second, pushing this forward to that Rams game on Monday night, but you've got a you've got a little bit of a you know, reclamation to do, like how do we get back to being us? How do we get back to you know, having that confidence in what we do. But man, that's what the Lions did.
They not only won that game, but they planted some seeds of doubt for me and what the Vikings can do moving forward.
Yeah, I'm gonna go back to a Buck said too though. Those long foul balls, I mean you have one where Justin Jefferson catches that ball, you know ninety five times out of one hundred. It was a little bit high, but that's the back of the end zone. That's a touchdown. Then you have a protection breakdown. They get to Sam's hand on that double move. It was a slug o I believe from Jefferson that would have been a layup touchdown. He just threw it a little bit flat. I just
think cleaning up the red zone. Buck, You've you've been in these been in these moments on these teams, and I know it's maybe it's different going into a playoff week, but is there something too if you're Kevin O'Connell that it's just, Hey, we're gonna spend we're gonna spend a majority of our time this week just dialing in red zone. We're just gonna clean up some of that stuff. We're
gonna give it a little more attention. You ever on a team where that type of a practice week where it may be changed up just a little bit, put a little more emphasis on that or third downs.
Yeah, I'm actually glad you said that, because I think you'll get this approach. I played for David Shaw's dad, Willy Shaw, who's office coordinated. When I played for the Raiders, and he always talked about when you're building your team early in the season, you have to figure out what kind of team you have. Are you a team that can aggressively go after Are you a BIM but don't break team? And he said, if you're one of those teams,
that's a BIB, but don't break team. Between the twenties, you need to spend most of your time on the practice field working in the red zone because your job is to make sure that in the red zone we're the best at it. We have most of our tricks and gadgets in the red zone, so spend more time on tasks being good there. We're not going to give them the big play in between the twenties because our
work is done in the red zone. What you're saying about the Minnesota Vikings, based on how they lost to the Detroit Lions, you one hundred percent add some minutes to the periods in the red zone. You spend maybe two days working on red zone efficiency as opposed to just.
The one day.
To me, this game was one and lost in the red zone. So the Minnesota Vikings, if they have another opportunity against the Lions, they certainly have to spend more practice time doing that and have some beaters to take advantage of some of the things that the Lions throughout at them and that win or go.
Home situation that they saw on Week eight.
Team right about the Rams it.
Yeah, Look, I think the Rams have everything they need to win this game and did win a game like this at home against the Vikings. Think it was back the second game after their bye week, and that was kind of the beginning of this surge for LA. They were getting everybody back healthy.
At Puka.
You had Cooper both going, You had about almost one hundred yards from Kyron Williams, like you saw the formula. I had a few sacks from that talented young defensive front. They got after Sam Darnold in that game, and then you know, they got some contributions from the you know, the ansel that the auxiliary players like Robinson seeing here catching the the you know, the game winner. I think that this game, that game, when you look back on it, showed us what the Rams are at.
Their best and if they are at their best, I think they win this game against the Minnesota Vikings.
Yeah.
I'll tell you what's a confident bunch when you rest up, not Karen, who the opponent is, whether it was Washington, believe what, you would have thought they would have preferred. But they were like, Hey, whoever's comming's coming, we don't care. We're going to rest up and get get ready to roll Buck.
I mean, look, I think there's a really unique approach because in listening to Sean McVay talk about that, he said, our job and our goal and I expectation is to not only be in the playoffs for one game, but to play multiple games. So at some point we're going to see these teams anyway. To me, that is a confident coach that doesn't matter anytime, any place, anywhere, like we're gonna play whoever. I dig it, I mean, I I appreciate it. We'll see if it comes to fruition.
If they do benefit from having a home game, like they've been pretty good on defense and they played really well at home, Uh, that might be.
That might have also gone into their thinking too.
If you gonna win a super Bowl, not win the first round of the playoffs, right, so if this puts you in a better position to do that, to rest some of these guys, then so be it.
Yeah, unless unless being the three would have given you a home field advantage in the in the championship game, and being the four send you on the road. That could that could change it. But yeah, we'll see. I don't think that's likely uh a scenario to breakdown. So let's get to the next one. Walk in Tampa Bay, another rematch that we saw earlier this year.
Buck, I'm so excited to see Jayden Daniels.
But I say that, and I go back to what I said a few weeks ago. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Although they mess around with some teams and keep some teams in games that maybe they shouldn't, man, I must saw them on their best day, because when they came out and whooped the Chargers, I was like, this is one of the most physical teams in the NFL. Both lines of scrimmage, very physical. And that's a team that I don't know that i'd be all that excited to face in the playoffs.
Yeah, how about that.
It's funny, man, because I don't want to say in essence edition by subtraction, but you would think this team would have fallen apart after they lose Chris Godwin and some of the others own offense, they appeared to found to find a formula that works for them offensively. They started running the ball right down people's throats while using Mike Evans as the ultimate eracer. In the passing game,
Baker Mayfield is playing really well. And what they've done with Baker Mayfield is they have them on a bit of a pitch count, but they've let him go past that pitch count when they need it, and he's been really good, really efficient, really effective finding those open receivers in those various windows. And then anytime you play a Todd Bowles defense, regardless of who they have in the back end, they are going to test your courage and
your discipline with relentless pressure. The Buccaneers are a tough team and they can give Jayden Daniels problems, but I'm not gonna lie. I'm excited to see how the young quarterback handles this opportunity on a big stage in the postseason.
You just from a you know, a team building perspective here looking at this game, if I am wanted to just kind of bring it all full circle with some of these teams that are gonna be looking at new head coaches and new personnel, executives. I'm taking a close look at what Jason light has done in Tampa and what his staff and Mike Greenberg, and I know it has already gotten a interview require I think from the
New York Jess John Spytech as well. Like their formula for building, rebuilding, and retooling offensive and defensive lines is among the best that we have seen in this league. I mean the way that they continue to find premier players in the draft up front on both sides. Graham Barton the latest on the offensive side for Tampa, but they they've gone to all corners. I mean Hobart College with Ali Marpette who did some good things for him. Alex Kappa, you remember, started in Tampa and then you
got a big deal to go to Cincinnati. Like, they have found really good players there and on both sides, and I think that's what it's going to come down to, Like can they continue to provide some time for Baker Mayfield against the team in Washington who is a top five sack team in this league as a group, right, So if they can continue to find time for Baker, open up some holes for Bucky irvingha Rashad White, I
think the commander. I mean, I think the Buccaneers marched through to the second round.
Yeah, I do think it's gonna be a fun game, one of the ones I'm looking forward to the most. Maybe not as much as this next one though, green Bay Philly for having the year Philly had. Man, it's not not a walk in the park with the seventh seed coming in here with the Green Bay Packers, who a little bit stumbling down the home stretch here, buck, but it's still a dangerous team. They played to kick off the season in Brazil and they're going to see
each other again here. A very contested game. They're in Brazil, and look, I think Philadelphia's got the better roster. I think They've got the better team. But man, that is not a layup first round game for a two seed.
No, not a layup. And the Green Bay Packers are talented. They have tremendous depth that can give you problems. It'll be tested though. They lose Christian Watson to an ACL injury that robs them of a deep ball playmaker for Jordan Love, but they have the running game, and they have a team that is really a bit of a chameleon when it comes to their offensive style.
They can run the ball heavily with Josh Jacobs.
They have a bit of a ball control offense where they can throw it around to a bunch of different pass catchers and when Jordan Love values the ball takes care of the ball. This offense is one that allows them to play keep away and they can put pressure on Philadelphia by using their offense to be their best defense. And oh, by the way, Jeff Afley into their defense,
they turned the ball over a ton. Really challenging game for the Philadelphia Eagle is they got to be on there, They got to bring their a games.
They gonna win it.
I feel like the movie Rounders was playing in my head when this match. Right back to where I started with three stacks of high society here, right back to where we started down in South America with the Packers in the Eagles. Now, a lot has changed, certainly, But you know, for the Packers, you know, coming out of that game, Jordan Love was banged up, a little bit banged up in this last season finale for Green Bay two,
It's not think he's going to be fine. My biggest question is, you know, what's the word on Jalen Hurts and you know, what's it going to be like for him in the concussion protocol these last couple of weeks to get back out there full throttle with this group there.
You know, this has not been a you know, last couple of weeks of the season that has been free from drama, as is the case in Philly, So you don't want to get this thing started off poorly, right, Like, how does Philly react if Jalen's got some rust early? That's that's something that I'll be watching for. How do those receivers react. How does this offense come together? Good thing is they can They can hand it off to the best running back in the league.
So we'll see how that plays out. But that's what I'm curious about.
Yeah, I think that them being able to rest, Philly being able to rest last week, get saquon fresh legs. I think that's a big part of it. And you know it hurts, you know. I imagine he'll be cleared and ready to go by the time we get to game day and he's going to have fresh legs as well and be rested. So I'm telling I'm telling Jalen, let's spend a little extra time on the legs in treatment. Not really worried about the shoulder right now, let's not.
Let's just let's get ready to roll with our offensive line. You've got fresh legs. Saquon's got fresh legs. We'll worry about the passing game when we get to round number two. But let's take care of business against the Green Bay Packers. And I do think the best way for them to do that is on the ground. All right, guys, let's get over to the AFC Buffalo Denver buck. I feel like this is a game where you know all these other you know matchups, you can make the argument and make the case.
For the upset.
I feel like nobody has made a strong argument for the Denver Broncos to win this ballgame. And I think there is a path. What is that path in your opinion?
Oh?
I think that path is their defense really getting after Josh Allen, really suffocating the run a game and making Josh Allen play at a superhero level and hoping that bad Josh Allen shows up where he makes a couple risky throws that go the other way. This Broncos defense leads the league in sacks they can get after advance Joseph. Look he's fearless when it comes to attacking the quarterback.
If you're Sean Payton, like, and I hate this saying, but you're playing with house money because no one necessarily expected them to be there, they can be free and loose when they played this game. The pressure is really on the Buffalo Bills to knock off a team that everybody expects them to win. Lean on the defense, see if you can shrink the game with the running game, and look, man, let bow knicks make a handful of
plays with his arm and leg. If they can get it to the fourth quarter, that's when I think you're trying to win it. If you're Sean Payton, I think this is a game where you do everything in your power to make it a fifteen minute game by being really.
Close to the Buffalo Bills and that last quarter.
Yeah, you know, and I gave you something real quick. Here, let me get you something real quick sometimes. You see, you know, you get to play caller. You're holding the thing.
You know.
Sean Peyton likes to hold that card up there and there's usually a message there.
So if he flips the card around.
This week, this is what it's gonna it's gonna look like here, it's gonna have it's gonna have all these screens. It's going to have a million of these, have a good bit of runs right here, and then our pure past a couple, just a couple of those. That's gonna be our that's gonna be our Sean Payton call sheet this week.
Marvin MEM's going on some of those screens, right, get get Troy Flank Franklin the ball, maybe maybe down the field that.
Every screen you ever imagine, tight end screens, We're going to dust it all off.
Yeah, I get that.
That run section is kind of what I'm a little bit curious about, especially if we get some adverse weather up there in Orchard Park, New York. So I don't obviously that has not been their strength this year, but I think this will be a really fun test, you know, for a quarterback in bo Nicks, who's the heck of a competitor, just like Josh Allen. Think there's some some real similarities there on the way that they approach the game. Now we kind of get to see it unfold.
Yeah, and then here I have a buck. I've just got the call sheet handed to me for the for the Buffalo side of things.
And that's that's all you gotta do. Uh, Josh you you I get it. That's it.
I get it.
That's all we need.
Good.
Yeah.
Yeah, I'm in a professional call sheet. Yeah maker over here.
You know, I just uh a free service that I'm offering up for the rest of the league.
Now, this is going to be Josh Allen.
This is I'm hoping that he just stays healthy and we get to see the get the full Josh experience where he's he's running the ball like ten, twelve, thirteen times to go along with these incredible throws he's capable of making. But it's because it reminds me buck of of what you get to see. It's high school football with him, Like he plays the game like you would if you're at a high school and you just say,
you're the biggest, baddest dude my team. You play quarterback, and then Why'm gonna make them tackle you as many times as possible?
I mean, why not when you have the best player, you don't make it really complicated. Give him the ball, give him opportunities more than anybody else, and let him have the biggest impact on the game. That's how Buffalo plays. And it's funny at a time when we look at this team and we look at their roster, particularly one that is without Stefan Diggs on the perimeter, one that kind of shed a lot of the pieces around him, they perform better.
And let's talk.
About Josh Allen and what we see from quarterbacks. It's the maturation and the evolution of him at the position. The guy that was kind of the gunslinger, the one that played like John Wayne.
He still has some of that, but.
He really reserves it to until red zone situations or end of game. Gotta have his situations. You don't see him run around recklessly for most of the game, but it's only in those two areas when you got to have a play at the end of the game, where the end of a half or down in the red zone, will.
He put their cape on and go and do Josh Allen type stuff.
I mean, that's that's the formula, right.
You know who he is.
You know who he is by the way he's he's if Derrick Henry spent like six years training with David Morris, that's who.
That's who Josh Allen.
Got demo.
What's up? Buddy, we'll see down there.
Yeah, Hey, that tells you, That tells you can trade some quarterbacks.
Now that's the case. Let's get Derek Henry.
Going, dude, He's he's literally if the touchdown active touchdown rushing touchdown leaders, it is Derrick Henry, Ezekiel Elliott, and Josh Allen. That's insane. You're I know Chargers, Hey, you never know. I always have a veteran in reserve here Hungary bet him and Bosa but reunited again, like we're back at Ohio State in like two thousand and six.
Eight.
All right, let's get to Pittsburgh Baltimore third time? Is it is?
That? Is? That?
Is that an issue?
Buck?
You've been You've been on teams that have seen the team for the third time postseason.
Well, anytime you play a division rival in a playoff game and stuff, because they really know you and you can throw out the records in those things. And for this team is very difficult because Lamar Jackson has typically struggled against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Not the last time, but if you go back and let's get his history, he's had a tough time dealing with the Mike Tomlin coach defense that would trouble me a little bit. But let's say this about the Baltimore Ravens. This is the version
of the Ravens that we thought we would see. From beginning to end.
They're playing their best football heading to the stretch.
Some of that has been fueled by that defense and the move of Cayle Hamilton to free safety. Cayle Hamilton has cleaned up some of the issues that they had in the middle of the field, the tackling, the blown coverages and those things. They've tightened that up, and so
they're playing competent football on defense and then on offense. Man, they just continue to put you in a bind because it's not only Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, the playmakers on the outside and the explosiveness of this offense that keeps you up at night if you're a defensive coordinator having to face them.
Yeah, man, I just wonder. You know, the Steelers have been in this position before, right to a couple of years ago when.
They started out you know whatever, it was eleven or zero.
And and then kind of had that losing streak to finish up. This feels a little bit like that for Pittsburgh. You know, I know they've had some success, although albeit not recently as far you know as the last couple of weeks ago against the Ravens. But man, it just feels like the way things are going, it's going to be hard for them to pull out of this tail
spin a little bit. With the way that you know, they've been playing on all offense in particular, and what we've seen from George Pickens when he came back, and obviously what we've seen from Russell Wilson over the last month. You know, obviously talk about you know, justin fields moving forward and all that in the next year. I just this feels like the Ravens are a juggernaut and that they are rolling into a Marque matchup later in the postseason with the Bills of the Chiefs.
Yeah.
I would say that the Pittsburgh formula is deep shots, deep shots, deep shots. So you're just hoping Pickens comes down with a couple. You're hoping you get a couple of flags, you know, some thirty forty yard penalties. I don't see them moving the ball. They just haven't shown the ability to do that. So they're going to rely on on the defense. Getting them some short fields. Maybe it's a punt return, it gives them a short field, and then it's it's go balls and penalties. I mean,
that's a tough way to live. So I'm I'm kind I'm looking more in this one. We'll see if the if the Steelers can make this more of a ball game. Chargers Houston. Look, it's a big difference for the Chargers getting the five versus the six. Going to Houston versus going to Baltimore. You gotta be careful. I mean, Houston, you don't want to be disrespectful there, but just off the years they've had and we just saw Houston and Baltimore square off and we saw how lopsided that was.
So there is a big difference there between those opponents. But you know, buck, to me, the matchup to watching this game that I'm looking forward to. Rashaun Slater is back at practice today. He'll be I'm sure he'll be rocking and rolling ready to go. Him and Joe Alt going up against Will Anderson de Neil Hunter. That's uh, you know, if they can if they can get that done and take care of the edges, justin Herbertson are really good groove right now, and mcconkey's is, you know,
playing really really well. Will Disley's found a role. Quentin Johnston had thirteen for a buck eighty six last week, coming off his best game.
As a pro.
Offensively.
Offensively, they're starting to peak and JK. Dobbin, since he's come back healthy, is a nice weapon. They're out of the backfield. So I feel like the Chargers are peaking at the right time. But I also feel like the Texans, I mean, shoot it, I would say you'd use the word disrespected. I think they're being disrespected by a lot of folks as you go into this matchup.
Yeah, they've been disrespected because the expectations were so significant for this team. We talked about this team being a super Bowl favorite, and they haven't played to that level. But it doesn't mean that they can't play to that level in the postseason. A lot of it really hinges on c J. Stroud. What I am looking for. I want to see how Jesse Mentor goes after c J.
Stroud. C J.
Stroud has not been the same player that we saw last year's mark. He's had more turnovers then we saw his rookie season. How does Jesse Minner kind of attack him. Does he sit back in coverage and dare him to fit it into tight windows versus those zones. Does he play a little tighter and snugger on the guys, Because let's be real, the number one threat that they have in the passing game is Nico Collins. If they can run the ball, it allows Nico Collins to get loose
on play action. But if they can contain Joe Mixon and I guess you may have to say Damian Peert, they then are able to put all their odds on Nico Collins and force C. J.
Stroud to beat them left handed.
Yeah.
Look, you know, when I think about the Texans, obviously this has been a disappointment of a year. Yet they're still AFC South champions and have been for like a month, and you know they've they've had time to figure it out. It hasn't quite worked yet. But when you go back, if I'm the Texans, I go back and look at where we've been, where we were at this time last year, it's kind of similar, you know, in terms of personnel that's available.
Right, Remember Tank Dell got hurt, you know, a.
Couple of weeks a few weeks before the postseason started, was done for the year, and it was kind of the Nico Collins show at receiver. They were getting maybe a little bit more at a Dulton Schultz at the time, it felt like. But I think they're in a better place defensively, and you know, that was a nice confidence building drive. One drive for CJ. Stroud, Nico Collins and the Texans offense. I'll be it against the Titans, but
got that touchdown. He was six of six. They've won a playoff game, you know, kind of in this spot before. So if they can take care of the football and keep CJ. Stroud relatively clean, I think there's still an opportunity in a pathway here for the Texans to get a dub.
Yeah.
I think it's gonna be a good game. I'm looking forward to going to Houston and checking that one out. A little cold though, looking at the I know it's indoors, but just weatherwise for me walking outside, it's gonna be a challenge.
I don't know if that's going to be me. I think I'm gonna be in the hotel room in some college to freeze getting down there.
Yeah, that's got that's got hotel watching college tape written all.
Over it for this weekend as they get ready attle early and head over to the Cotton Bowl.
You know, oh yeah, yeah, but it's like for Houston to dall Us with.
Like four hours not a great drive in the cold.
That's not happening. Yeah, I had conditions not going to happen.
By the way.
Uh, I guess we'll have more information on this, uh going forward. But I've been told by a little birdie in my ear that rookie draft was a tie this year.
I tied him, bled him in.
We need to go back and look about whether we actually that year did week eighteen last year? Okay, that's what we need to go back and look whether we played through Week eighteen last year.
Can't wait next year, can't wait the next year? Last year?
Hey, look, we just we protect our turf here, that's what we do.
We protect our turf.
Bucky and I go on this thing for a decade and Rett comes in and just that wasn't going to happen. We couldn't let that. Co champs by the way, I got it. I got a hatch uh. For high school we were co champs of the Harbor League. And they didn't put a dash between the co and the Champs, so it just says coach imps coach umps.
Harbor League debated on whether you're putting out my jack? I was like, what am I supposed to? This is terrible?
Come on, it's embarrassing to print a cod Champs patch so nothing will be hanging on the bookshelf behind me. We got to win these things out right, all right? This has been a fun one. Hope you guys have enjoyed it. We've enjoyed digging into these matchups. Can't wait for a great week into football. We'll see you next time right here on with the sticks