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off first purchase. Download game Time today, last minute tickets, lowest prices guaranteed all right, wild weekend and want to finish to it. Kansas City holds on to beat Buffalo Trailed at half seventeen to thirteen, come back to win twenty seven to twenty four, a game in which both teams made a lot of mistakes. John Middlecoff, former NFL scout, hosts a podcast on the volume three and Out. Yeah, I mean this is when you get into these classic you know, all E. Fraser matchups. You know, you see
them multiple times. People get so nervous and so anxious. They want to blame the refs, and there was some stuff today with the officiating, But I also think both teams made a ton of mistakes. I mean, McCole Hardman, why are you giving him the ball down there? The fake punt, Buffalo fumbles it, Kansas City's on it, and
then Buffalo regains it. So I mean in the end, I looked at Buffalo in the first half only up four, despite the fact they'd have double the time of possession, double the first downs, two hundred and thirty five yards, and they lead seventeen to thirteen this game. Maybe I'm wrong on this. It felt like Buffalo had their chances, but they just didn't take advantage of it.
Yeah, I mean, Buffalo goes up into halftime seventeen thirteen, and then the Chiefs come right out and score right, they go right down, and then it's twenty to seventeen, and you felt like, you know, the Bills are gonna have to make just a stupid amount of plays to win this game because they're gonna have to make extra plays because the Chiefs have their number. And they did. I mean, Josh Allen on that final drive before the kicker missed multiple big third downs, multiple plays with his legs.
I mean this another time when he played really well. I don't exactly know what his final box score was, but I thought he was awesome legs, Yeah, hitting balls. How many times did he make big throws down the field? They drop some Obviously they got a little lucky on the fumble that Cankine Doc doubt and they ended up landing on. But to lose on a kick and who knows, I mean maybe they would have lost in overtime, maybe
the Chiefs drive. That's tough. I mean, it feels like the same shit, different day for three straight years with a team with a quarterback in the peak of his powers and Andy Mahomes. You just can't get over the hump.
Well, and also I thought if Buffalo won, they were in big trouble against Baltimore. I got two healthy linebackers go into I think Kansas City. So the line is Baltimore minus three. I thought Kansas City has a real shot to win that game. I felt like Buffalo they were just falling apart physically. And I think that thing that's frustrating if you're a Bills fan is that it just becomes so Josh Allen dependent. You can't count on the defense, you can't count on health. Now, you can't
count on the kicker McDermott's fake punt. I can't count on the coach. It just always feels like Josh Is puts the cape on and when they lose, are like he's not the issue. And it just feels like, you know, in previous years there was no run game. Now they have a run game. In previous years there was weakness in the conference. It's it's this is this was the year for Buffalo. John Kansas City doesn't have a number two receiver. They have some undependable hardman Tony some some players.
Now Tony didn't play today, right, so, but they have these players all year long. And you taught today with a fumble at the goal line, Kansas City opens the door to beat them multiple times a game now they never did in the previous five years, and Buffalo at home still can't put him away.
Yeah, to me, this is the worst loss. I just don't see how you shake this if you're that franchise, because, like you said, you're playing this team that kind of comes limping in relative to what they've been. Who made big play after big play today was Valdaz Scanting. He hasn't kind of cold all season long. He had both huge catches. Yeah, I think when you're a player or two away like Buffalo has banned, like the forty nine ers have been, like the Chiefs, and you buy a
big free agent, you need that guy to hit. So look at the forty nine ers, right, they get Tarvarius Warden Hardgrave immediately. Those guys are Pro bowlers, right. The Chiefs they signed Justin Reid a couple of years ago. You feel them all over the field. They went all in on von Miller. Now he tore his ACL, but it was an older player and that was a disaster. And when you are paying a lot of guys money and you go all in on one player, then he gets injured and he's clearly a shell of himself. Now.
You feel that, like, where are their impact players beside? Like you said, they're built like a basketball team right now, and they have a superstar player and when he's you know, incredible, like he was today making plays left and right, but your margin, frer is still so tiny. And like you said, they had guys dropping like flies. The injuries were starting to mount up, and they some of those guys that
got hurt came back in the game. You're like, thank god, I don't know who he would have thrown to, but man, to miss that kick, I mean, this is a franchise that does feel snake bitten and who knows. I mean, I listen Sean McDermott going forward on that punt. They got bailed out obviously by the fumble a couple of plays later, but that was that was a questionable move. It really well, you're playing a team that's offenses the entire season has struggled, like you just punt and I
get your punters hurt. That was a huge part of this game right there. He could barely punt. So to lose that game at home as the favorite, that's something it's hard to shake.
Well, and the other thing is, and I know I've been on this ad nauseum. Hardbaugh's not your classic defensive coach because he started as a running back coach, then it was a tight end coach, then was a special teams coordinating. He's not your classic defensive coach. He's he's done secondary, special teams. So here, this part of this dynamic is Andy Reid offensive coach, Sean McDermott defensive coach.
Andy's been able to fix problems faster offensively, the O line, the receiving corps, bring Juju Smith Schuster in for a year. All these teams. Once you pay the quarterback John, You've got liabilities. Yea, Andy's a better job to fix those spags. Brett veach Andy. I mean they've had to rebuild the old line twice, rebuild the defense, rebuild the receiving corps, and I almost feel like the offensive coach can do that a little bit more quickly, at least on the
offensive side. I think this is a flawed Kansas City team, But again, today you got guys that didn't make plays all year making huge plays.
I think there's something to be said about the championship culture. I mean, about the thing that you truly can't quantify. It was on full display today. Right. Travis Kelcey to me, has been a shell of his greatness this season. Yeah, what did he do today? Made some big plays, multiple huge touchdowns. The other thing, when you have an offensive coach that your head coach usually get the best out of guys. So what happened? Their young wide receiver Rice
got better and better? Valdaz Scantling. They don't just throw him in the doghouse. They keep positivity, they keep his head up and then he's making big plays for him today. The defensive culture, right, he goes back to Spags a couple of years ago. How well does that team tackle?
Right?
I mean they got a lot of ram them guys in the secondary, mid to late round draft picks, great open field tacklers. Even when they give up a big play, they don't hang their head. That was a team. We've seen them forever win these games at home now back to back weeks, but specifically this week they're down multiple times, unfazed that they didn't wilt, that they didn't go into the tank, that they're really unphased by adversity. I really think this is a mirror image. They're different. But of
those Patriot teams, you just could never count out. You're like, oh, this is the time, you know, to bet against them, and then they end up winning that game as an underdog on the road in a tough condition when the other quarterbacks going nuts, just because the margin for their er on the other team is small. They have the superior coach, even if the quarterbacks are a coin flip.
Their other guys are just gonna make the Bills truly believe, like deep down in their soul they're gonna win this game. At different points, how could they? They've never won this game where all those guys on the Chiefs, even the young guys are super Bowl champions, like they all have a ring at home at their house like that they know they can win this game. They've literally done it before. And that that to me, like was the difference in the game.
No, it's true too, because if you go back to those Patriot teams, Julian Edelman's told me this couple of times. He goes, everyone had a different personality, everyone had a different weakness. We try to figure out what it was and find our identity. Like by the end of September, early October, and this team doesn't have the firepower. This team's better defensively, this team's a little younger in Kansas City.
But I do think that Andy Reid has come to terms with Listen, we're a flawed offense, but at some point scantling he can run Nicole Hardman. I'm going to give him opportunities because I think they're sort of limited. But you know, and if you go back to a lot of those New England teams, they had flaws. Some teams didn't run as well. There were a couple of teams that had no deep threat, and then you just went heavy gronk, you know, heavy gronk, heavy special teams
in defense. I think this was the Kansas City team for Buffalo to beat, though this one felt like it's still a work in progress with one of the best coaches of all time. I think Andy knows there's real limit to He doesn't want to give that baal to Hardman. That's done. I mean, you can see his reaction on the sideline. He's like, I trust you one more time. But I think you know, it's just like you said, I think there are opportunities to beat certain dynasties, and this was one of them.
I but isn't that why they are the dynasty Colin? Like? Isn't that why like that happened to the Patriots. They had moments, some of those Flacco Ravens teams, some of those Peyton teams, and you just can't get it done. Today's a good example. And I think this last couple of years, you know, I would say Belichick's greatest strength as a coach is willing to do anything. You can't stop the run, We'll run it all day on. You
can't stop the pass, will pass it. You have struggled with something offensively, we'll exploit that area.
Well.
Andy's always been known, past, past, past, Today Mahomes only had twenty three attempts and they rode Potago for almost one hundred yards. And these last two years, minus Tyreek Hill, they've really ridden Pajago. Why he's clearly you could argue he's their best weapon right now with Travis no longer being an a player, probably a B plus player at least their equals, and Andy, who at his core wants to pass rain snow sleet in a dome, is pounding
him today. And that's added an element that this team. The NFL is lucky they didn't have this guy a couple of years ago with all the other weapons in their prime, because they never would have been beaten. Now he's had to shift a little bit. They feel like a defensive team right, which they definitely weren't early on in the Mahomes era. A very physical team and that also shows when you run the ball, it adds a
physical element to your team. That's why to me, I mean they're kind of built to go into Buffalo and win. They're built to go into Baltimore and win. Yeah, they can keep your offense, you know below twenty five. They have a very good chance because as long as they're hanging around, like I said, they're gonna believe they can win. I truly believe, Like is Baltimore. If this game is nineteen to seventeen going to the fourth quarter, the question
the Chiefs will not flinch. They will. They might lose, but they will not will I thought you could argue today is one of their more impressive wins given who they're playing, the injuries they've had. They lose their star linebacker Willie Gay in the middle of the game, whose job was to basically spy Josh Allen. What an incredible just day for Mahomes and Andy Reid. What a championship le win?
Yeah, I wrote, I wrote multiple times, like what a beautiful.
Mess with.
There are chaos back and forth. Yeah, I think I don't know how you know you talked about recovering. I think Kansas City their issues are solvable issues. But I also think when you look at a game like this, I really do think there are certain seasons where you get a feeling about something. Some stuff's obvious. San Francisco's roster is the best in the NFC, But I think very early in this season, you kind of felt like it was Detroit. This was a really solid team. The
O line, you know, they weren't. They weren't the team a couple of years ago that had to win by track meet their pass rush. Now was no longer. It was elite which could hide their secondary. And I do feel like watching Baltimore, I think Buffalo would have been in big trouble. I think it's gonna be I don't know if Kansas City can win. I when I watched Kansas City as I was watching Baltimore this weekend, I
thought to myself. God, it's hard to find a team without a flaw, and now that they've added Zay Flowers and I mean, just think of how dynamic. Look how many rushing yards Baltimore had against Demiko Ryans, a great coach, and they really controlled the game in the second half. They're on their third running back. Like you get to a point when I watched San Francisco and we've always acknowledged them, but when I watched Baltimore this weekend, I
don't know if Kansas City matches up. They have this mix of depth and elite talent and veterans, and I do feel that Kansas City is young and talented. I mean, how do you think they match up with the Ravens.
Well, if Gay is out, that's a big deal because Lamar who really got comfortable in the second half, they started running him on the edges. I mean, you can't afford to lose fast, explosive linebackers against that team because he is such a weapon, and he clearly is much calmer. He was a little tight early in that game. They were blitzing him. A ton came out and they were very relaxed, and he just went nuts right So to me, if you can't slow him down in the run game,
once he gets rolling, you have no shot. The other problem is their physicality on defense, Like it's gonna be hard for Pachaco, Like today he got ninety seven yards, Like, it's hard to get ninety seven yards against that defensive line and those linebackers because they tackle so well.
They their linebackers are great.
To me. The only thing you know, ultimately at the end of the day, you have Patrick Mahomes, He's just so unfazed by weather. That's you know. I was a big Peyton Manning guy growing up, and one huge disadvantage for him when he had to go to New England, he wasn't going to be as well in the cold. He had to get that game at home, and he finally did whatever six and he finally won it. The problem if you look at the Bills, like everyone's playing in the cold, So it's not a disadvantage you're getting
Patrick Mahomes. He's going to be the same, right So Patrick, obviously in Baltimore, colder place. You could see that the Texans who listened their roster at this point in time, with the injuries, the discrepancy in those two rosters was wide. Yes, no question, Demico had an incredible first half and they just ran out of juice. But I do think they're very comfortable going into a place that's I'm sure going to be really cold. Who knows what the weather's going
to be. But the Baltimore Ravens roster is better, oh yes, and they have I mean, Mike McDonald, the defensive coordinator, is a star. He might become a head coach. He's thirty seven years old. And Todd Munkin is an excellent offensive coordinator and he's you know those weapons they how good is a Flowers that young plight and they have that's like six foot five. And obviously Lamar is just he's now on these guys level, which I would say previously in these big spots, you didn't view him.
I feel the same way.
So if he's on their level, this you would say the rosters and now the coaching like this is not Andy ver Sean McDermott, right, this is Andy Verus John Harbor. He's got twelve playoff victories, has a Super Bowl and is comfortable in this environment and it's at home. I mean that's that's but I mean we just saw Kansas City, who had never gone into the on the road and won a game and on the mahomes there because they
hadn't have to didn't have to did it today. Honestly, they felt pretty comfortable most of the game and they were down unfazed. So I would not just write them off. I do think it's gonna be hard. It would be harder than today. They can't afford fumbling a ball into the end zone or having some drops. But you saw Travis Kelce, you know, upped it up a notch and and Andy today I thought was pretty dialed in. So you're getting this big guy who's I mean, this is
what he coaches for. So I I would lean Baltimore just if you go their two even teams, you know, in terms of the coaching staffs, but their talent's a little bit better. It's look back on betting against Brady and Belichick, that usually was not a smart, you know, thing to do. So if you look at it that way, I don't think putting money or getting behind Kansas City, or picking Kansas City in this game makes you a crazy man, that's for sure.
Let's talk earlier game. You know, I was thinking watching Detroit Win. Jared Goff went to like Marin Catholic. The team was terrible in high school. He comes in, they're excellent. He goes to Cal their garbage. The two years before he goes to Cal, they start winning games. The Rams when he first got there were a mess, right the Jeff Fisher Rams gets McVeigh hits it. Now he goes to the Lions, bump a year and a half and
he's got them in the NFC Championship. You know, I know when you watch Lamar and Mahomes and Josh Allen, they do feel like they've sort of separated from the world. Burrow just can't stay healthy and he's not that dynamic of an athlete. But we got to be honest about Jared Goff. I don't care if it's high school, college or pro. He has now taking his second team to the NFC Championship. And you know, you at first you
could say it's McVeigh. Well, now it's Dan Campbell, and we don't consider Dan Campbell to be Sean.
Mcvahh and the Lions.
Right there's And the truth is, when I watched that game today, my take my big takeaway was, oh, he's way too comfortable. When you give Jared Goff three beats Amaran Saint Brown Laporta first, I think gives us a sensational player, that old line, you know. I just I watched it and I'm like, okay, this this feels like the Rams team. Jared's got one thousand and one, one thousand and two, one thousand and three. Jared Goff's going
to pick your part. And I think people are just not quite comfortable because he's really one of the last pure pocket guys draft at number one, like Cure and.
We don't don't really exist. They don't exist in college, and.
We don't draft them number one. We want to see all this movement. He's one of the last pocket guys. I don't know. I just watched him today and I'm like, Jesus, he Even my wife doesn't even like football, and she's like, God, that guy has got to he's I mean his over you know today he got amped up and overthrew Laporta in the end zone. But I don't know. I'm just a bigger fan of golf than I think the rest of football fans are.
I wrote down today, do you think it has a chance to be one of the greatest trades in NFL history. They got two first round picks and Jared Goff. Think about that, and that the second first round pick turned into a top five or it was the sixth overall pick because the Rams were terrible, which they turned in to Gibbs who looks like Alvin Kamaro two point zero and Laporta. So they got their starting quarterback who makes and he's under contract next year twenty five million dollars a year.
That's it.
In a day and age, when every guy's making forty five to fifty, he's making twenty five. He's already proven that he can win, and now he's winning. And they added all this other talent when they already had some ascending young players. That general manager. We talk a lot about golf, and we talk a lot about Dan Campbell,
but those personnel moves, because we've seen Jared Goff. If you put the talent around him, you're gonna win, right and if you can protect him and he gets comfortable some of those throws, his accuracy, his personality, you know, he's kind of got the surfer California cool. I'm not comparing him to Joe Montana, but he kind of has that easy going feel and I do think that helps him out because how many guys a coach of Sean mcvay's status, and even Sewan said, I regret saying he
crushed him publicly. I mean completely, something you don't really see with a guy that you had some success with. And the Lions and Dan Campbell in this where he deserves a lot of credit, they built him back up. I don't care who you are, especially young men need people to promote you and have support from behind you, and they gave it to him, and then they surrounded him. I mean, how much talent does that team have? The Jibs Montgomery, the offensive line.
Sat Hutchison. Hutchison Tampa left him un blocked several times. Today they're more active at linebacker.
Brands the safety, their second round pick from Alabama, fantastic. He makes tackles left and right. This team is a corner away from being a legit Super Bowl contender next year, and honestly, like the way the Niners look, I wouldn't just count them out now. They historically have rattled Jared Goff because when you know, if you have a mobile quarterback Jordan Love, you don't even need to be Lamar Jackson. You give them a little trouble, but when you sit
in the pocket, the Cousins, the daksh definitely golf. I mean historically on the Rams, they destroyed them. Now, this Niners defensive line is not playing as well as a has in years past because Chase Young is just not that good, and Bosa you know there he's getting double teamed, and the other guys are just kind of okay. Now the rest of their defense is okay, right, Their linebackers are good, they have some good dbs, but their defensive
line is nowhere near what it once was. It actually is much closer to this Lions group that has Hutchinson a bunch of other random guys. Then, I think the way that it's perceived of, oh, the Niners the best defensive line we've ever seen. They got some names, but they are not playing like that for any by any means. So I think most people are going to say this Chiefs, you know, Ravens game has a chance to be a big classic. It's like, oh, the Lions, you know their
run is going to come to an ni. Yeah, the Niners better pick pick it up a little bit because they did not look very good on Saturday night.
No, And you know, it was really interesting when I went back, and let's talk San Francisco green Bay here, because if you go statistically, it was an incredibly close game. The time of possession was even five point three yards of play for green Bay five point six for San Francisco. You had two great running backs, two offensive coaches, two young quarterbacks. The difference is Jordan Love had a couple of picks and pretty was cleaner. But look, my first takeaway, I.
Mean, balls are flying all over the place. You could have thrown about three or four.
Yeah, yeah, I mean, and I think that's the reality of Jordan Love. He's erratic, but he's really good. My first takeaway on this game is, holy shit, if Aaron Rodgers would have just not audibled out of Matt Lafleur's offense, the air. Thing is crazy about this is that Aaron knew how good Aaron Jones was. He's a stud, he's not McCaffrey, but in an argument, is the second best
back in the league. And you know how good Lafleur is and the old line is and watching in Romeo Dobbs, Now he didn't know Aaron wouldn't know they would draft two tight ends. Musgraves really talented, but Aaron left that and kind of got his way out of there. I'm watching them today and I'm like, you could make an argument by next year if Jordan Love just cleans up some of his erratic play, this is going to be a six year run, four to six year run of NFC championship level players, right.
One thing I wrote down is, you know we and I'm guilty of this. We talk so much about Kyle and McVeigh, those two guys head and shoulders as the young crew. I think we gotta throw Matt Lafleur in that group. I mean what he did, he had that team show up and they were kicking the Niners. Ass. I don't care. He coached Shanahan oh all night long. I mean, all the Niners got that. It's one of the luckier wins I can remember. I mean, they've had some pressive wins. That was an all time lucky win.
And that's I had. Multiple people in the NFL texted me this morning like I can't even imagine being on the packer staff waking up this morning. I mean, you had it. You didn't have him on the ropes. You had them beat and Lafloor deserves He's He's everything you want, right. He is a good head coach. Clearly the guys like him. He is the offensive play caller, and now he's proven he can get along with an absolute superstar. Aaron really liked him, and now he can also develop a young
guy that we had never seen. Like what else can you ask out of a coach? So Green Bay looks like they have struck oil. I had some question marks just because you know he inherited Aaron Rodgers will see. Well, now you see what he's doing with all these young players. They go on the road to San Francisco. We saw what he did two weeks ago to the Cowboys. I mean, beat the shit out of him. What a night. I know there's no moral victories in the National Football League,
but what a night for Lafloor. I mean, seriously, I mean to have that team on the brink that they were a ten point underdog against a team that every single human and their mother pick to win that game. That was also john incredible effort. What I said before the Dallas and San Francisco games is I hope Rock pretty and DAK can play from behind, they take leads. I don't think they've turned the ball over in the
first quarter all season. So again, this was the frustration with sometimes with Aaron that he would and Greg Cosell said this for years, like there's made plays, there's successful plays, and Nara's going to kind of blow some of those off. Is that what they're doing in their first quarter is it's scripted plays. Matt's like, here, run the first eight. They take leads. The DAK did not react well to it. But I mean for the first half, I was sitting there watching thinking.
Green Bay has young talent, San Francisco old talent. Are we seeing like a tipping point moment that San Francisco's old talent never gets a ring because I'm telling you, for big chunks in that game, I'm like, no, Greenpay can't win this game. They're not They're too young. At halftime, I really thought Green Bay was a better team.
One major issue that really came to light and we talked about this last week based on the Strauss article about the inclement weather, the AFC teams different than the NFC that doesn't really have a lot of weather. Well, while it was sixty degrees. It was raining. Pretty can't grip the ball in the rain. He made Cleveland, he couldn't grip the ball this game. He couldn't grip the ball. He came out with the glove. He even said I was a little uncomfortable. He immediately took it off. He could.
There was a play where he has the ball dropping back, going to his towel to dry out. He is not comfortable. And you know, he doesn't have big hands, but neither does Mahomes, but clearly he's comfortable in it. Pretty is not comfortable in inclement weather. Now he's lucky he plays in Santa Clara. Ninety nine percent of the games they're going to be good weather games. But if you do get weather, yes you almost got a short the forty nine ers, because he's now proven a couple times not
intrrential downpours, just a light Cleveland was raining. This game was raining. This wasn't like sleep or snow or a driving rainstorm. It was just bare wet and he could not grip the ball. And their offense, Kyle had a weird game. You know, I'd say typically he is very very He's one of those guys, right, like all these coaches that spend ninety one hundred hours during the week cat together a game plan and in his mind, his confidence and he should be my game plan is going
to dominate, and most of the time it does. But he's not king of doing the Belichick. Well, this isn't working a quarter in I'm scrapping everything and I'm checking right. He doesn't want to do that, And yesterday he came into this game spreading him out. Well, Kyle, your quarterback can't grip the football. You have Christian McCaffery, who's the best running back in the NFL. They're pounding you on the in the run game, we just run the ball,
slow down, settle down the game. But he kept spreading it out, which is honestly the antithesis of what he stands for and does. It was a bizarre game, and they got lucky some of the turnovers, and their defense kind of had held some red zone situations, held in the field goals, but he just wouldn't pivot off the pass.
This has always been my knock on shit, and I think he's great. Whereas Lafleur McVeigh. Of all those young guys, McVay is the culture center. He's the great culture coach, gets the most out of everybody. Shanahan is the scheme master, and then Lafleur is a little of both. But Shanahan is really really tied and loyal to his game plan.
That's why.
It is that playshet is his, that's his baby. And when it does, you know, they don't do well when they trail, No, they don't. He is just somebody that believes in his playsheet. And so there was some record. I think it was finally broken that they couldn't win a game when they trailed late in the game. I forget what the number one.
It was like seven points heading into the fourth core. He was owned thirty eight and technically they kicked the field goal the first play the fourth corner. But yeah, it technically broke the record.
But I think to your point, was he My takeaway was he he? When I watched San Francisco, like, there's no rhythm to this offense because every time they should have run, they threw perty couldn't grip the I mean one time, pretty a ball out in a flat he short hopped it. It wasn't even close.
Now it was crazy and to me, football like in our industry. It's so easy what we do now, like to pivot. Something works, try it the internet, everything digital. If it doesn't work, you pivot, you change, try something new. That's coaching, right. If something's working, stay with it. If it's not, you change. That's what all the best coaches do. And he was just so tied to that game plan of spreading them out, but his quarterback just could not
hold on to the football. And honestly, that would have been a game. If they lost, it would have been really hard to shake, and it would have put been a ton of pressure on the party situation. And like you said, with Kyle, in a weird way, you know, when you think now with even McVeigh, forever with Goth, McVeigh was the star of the team. But now with Stafford, you know, Stafford is equal, you know, in a weird way,
Kyle is kind of the star of the offense. Yes, yeah, and it sometimes when everything's going well, everyone else gets a share in it. But when it's not, it's like he kind of hoards these ideas. Deebo gets injured, they clearly had a bunch of plays for him, and he can't just like, okay, we're not going to do this. He's handing, He's handing balls to their third wide receiver in the backfield. It was crazy. You know, Luckily they have enough talents. Jordan Love was young and threw the
ball to the other team. But holy moly.
You know the and I was thinking about this is that. Think about the quarterbacks that are left mahomes Josh Allen number one pick, Jared Goff and Brock Purty. And as I was watching that game and they pull out the wind, I mean, it's funny because Brock had a nice final drive, all schemed up by Kyle, and you deserve credit for that. He didn't shrink.
He's mentally tough, like that's not Brock Purty's problems. Memory toughness. Kyle loves that.
Yeah, that's I mean, obviously you don't walk into that locker room with Hall of famers and own the locker room so exactly. And Sam Darnold acknowledging that he is cognitively the fastest thinker he's ever and that's so is Kyle. So it works. But you've got to be honest if you watch that game and don't see the limitations have brought Purty going forward, like you know the great coaches. Sean Payton has said the best weeks of coaching are when you play like crap and win. You can just
coach the hell out of them. San Francis, John Lynch and Shanahan have to have a private conversation and it's like we're kind of limbed. I mean again, here Burrow's coming back. And by the way, you may have a Caleb Williams and a Drake may go to the NFC Kyler Murray for a whole season. Stafford's coming back. I don't know, Jordan loves getting better. When I watched that game, even after they won, I thought it kind of changes
how I look at San Francisco. If sand Fridgisco beats Detroit, and I'm with you, I think it's a go either way game. I think it's it's it's very competitive game.
And IMS run defense is not good right now, and those two running backs for Detroit look like the horses.
And they're not getting the pass rush, so they can't. With ufunga and average corners, you can beat that. I mean, let's be honest, most of the secondary is left in this league. They're not very good. No, I mean, I mean Buffalo's you could gash. Detroit'sn't very good. I don't think the Niners is. But when the Niners had a great pass rush, like a prime example is the Eagles last year, they had a great pass rush, so it kind of masks their deficiencies in the back end. Well,
San Francisco's pass rush isn't the same. It's a very average secondary, and I think Goff's gonna have some success with it. But I watched pretty and I'm like, you can't win with shootouts here if it's inclement weather. I mean, there's some limitations with him.
Yeah, to me, he's just a jackal and Hyde. When you put with if it's going to rain, if you tell me it's raining on Sunday, I would have major reservations picking the forty nine ers, you know. And I think it gets back to this Lion's team. I think there are some parallels to last year's Eagles team. Right. They're head coach, great motivator, the guys who were like him, and he's got two great coordinators. I mean those two guys interviewing everywhere for head coaching jobs. Yes, I mean
the offensive coordinator looks like the next Shane Steichen. So you're playing a team that has all in all, the head man who's just clearly a great leader, and two scheme guys, especially their offensive coordinator, that are just in the peak of their powers right now. And you get a team coming with a ton of momentum. And the other thing is a little bit like the Packers. Now two weeks in a row. The Lions were favor today, but at the end of the day, they're the Lions.
You get to play with little house money. You know, there's a pressure on the Eagles, the Cowboys and the forty nine ers. Then let's face it just isn't there with the Lions or the Bucks or even the Packers, because once they get rid of Rogers, they kind of, you know, release that elephant in the room. There's a tightness. You feel it with the Niners, and you kind of felt today with the Bills too. Now the Niners won, the Bills didn't. But it was like anything less than
making a run here is devastating. We all know it. Like no one's running away from the expectations here. Now the difference, and this is it's a black and white league. Either winner. You don't that the Niners moved on. The Bills didn't, so you know, you gotta be careful going game to game. Maybe the Niners get a much better effort, they get an extra day of rest, but holy moly, I mean, if it sprinkles a little bit, I mean,
that shouldn't be that big of a problem. Should have called this the National Football League.
Yeah, it's it's just for the first time ever, you know how, There's these moments during the season. John, there was a moment I haven't boughten into the Cowboys forever, and then they went on this run and I bought into them. And then I watched them play Miami and I thought they are Miami. It's just more obvious that Miami is a little bit of a fake Gucci bag. So's Dallas. So's Dallas. And it changed the way I
thought of them. That Niner game. When I watched them play Baltimore, I'm like, Okay, this is you have some real I mean, there are just certain moments in a season. It's not always a blowout loss. I thought the Rams lost to Baltimore, I'm like, oh, Rams are for real, this is a real team. But when I watched the Niners lose to that Baltimore team that the Rams had played, you know close, it took something off the veneer of it. And then I watched them yesterday again and I'm like,
am I over valuing their talent? Like you look at the defensive lineman names, and I just look at this and I think to myself, with Detroit so o line and run game and with the lack of pass rush, I think I'm getting into the situation with the Niners is I'm thinking of the last four years and they're just not as good. Everybody's getting the old guys are getting older and the young guys aren't quite as good.
When Christian McCaffrey goes to the bench and they're rubbing out, he a Charlie Horse, I'm like, if he's out, they're in huge trouble.
Well, Deebo went out and threw them all off, and who knows his status, right, Yeah. I think the Niners got to the point and they were doing this because they are a really physical team. They started bullying people.
They did to the Eagles, they did to the US and then for the first time they got into the ring and Mike Tyson Chuck Lydeale hit him right into the in the square and the jaw, and it was the Ravens, and it rattled him a little bit, and they kind of haven't had the same swag since, just from a I'm tougher than you when I step in now, I don't think yesterday was about like a toughness because that was kind of the difference in the game. Their
toughness kind of kept them in the game. But this Detroit team, I'm pretty sure they were the best rush defense in the league. They're very hard to run on. So think about Kyle. I mean that throws them off a little bit if you can't run the ball, so all of a sudden, as he's spreading it out. Is the weather kind of bad now? I think I looked at earlier day, it wasn't supposed to rain. But if
perty is average, you're in major trouble. Now when he's major trouble, they still got a used, They got kid Old McCaffrey, can make plays, Juwan Jennings, they can still score with Detroit. I think it's more likely that we're looking at a game maybe both teams are kind of approaching thirty kind of a shootout, and that's what I would kind of expect because I don't think the forty nine ers defense right now is stopping much. And clearly the Lions, God, they look they just look like they
got it going on. They really do.
So I want to talk a little Baltimore Texans. Listen, the Texans had eleven penalties, only ten first downs.
C J.
Stroud only had twenty two minutes time of possession, So I think it's one of those. They had a great game plan and after about halftime, the game plan only works so far against Lamar Jackson. He disengages from the game plan, they make alterations at half, and you're it's just he's too hard to stop. I think the Texans, like green Bay. The green Bay just needs a year of seasoning. The Texans need another draft class and another
free agency class. They need about six more guys, which by the way, Baltimore hit on in the last draft. Seattle's hit on and he's a quarterback. But you can really go.
Get the Texans. I think the Texans have the most cap space this offseason.
Yeah, they need to go by a couple of players, and they need depth in the draft and a couple of frontline starts stars. I think their future is great, but I got to tell you when I look and I watched Baltimore, because c J. Stroud's a real quarterback. Baltimore made GoF Lick horrible. Baltimore beat Matt Stafford, Baltimore made c J. Stroud look really small. You start Baltimore
humiliated Miami two and Mike McDaniel and Kyle Shanahan. If you start looking at this schedule, I mean, Baltimore has gone into the teeth of brilliant coaches, great run games, highly effective, potent offenses, star quarterbacks and made them look awful like regularly. If Baltimore Baltimore, it maybe isn't the Seahawks team that went to the Super Bowl back to back, Remember that team that was so talented.
Their secondary is not as good as that team, but it's not.
But I got to tell you when I watched them that Rokwan Smith move, I had real doubts about you put him next to Patrick Queen home run. I am watching after this draft and Za Flowers, I'm like, they're doing this without Mark Andrews, the tight end who probably comes back. This is one of the better rosters.
I mean.
And also, it's not just that you have a quarterback you have a superstar quarterback with this roster, and I mean we could have a John Harbaugh Jim harbaughd National champion, super Bowl champ. When I look at this Baltimore team, even compared to San Francisco's roster, I think I think they're a little twitchier. I think I think they're significantly better at quarterback. I think we've undervalued Baltimore because we paid so much attention to San Francisco's roster and Mahomes
and Allen. I think I think Baltimore could beat Kansas City badly. I'm just blown away by their physicality, their explosiveness, their twitchiness.
Yeah, like I said, you gotta be careful betting against Andy Mahomes. The Raven should win this game, right. They think about the Chiefs who depend on Kelsey a lot, Well, they got two star linebackers and Kyle Hamilton who are made to you know, Negate that player, yep. And then they have a defensive line full of massive humans that can slow down but Jaco and clearly, I think the one reason I was hesitant because Okay, let's see Lamar
do it in that first half. You go, well, Demko is one of the best defensive coordinators was thrown them off. And then even Lamar said, we went in at halftime, we started cussing each other out, and then he settled down. He looked exactly like the MVP of the regular season. Okay, if he's gonna play like that, to me, they would be the favorite to win this whole thing right now, because, like you said, top to bottom, they can run the ball. Their quarterback is I mean, I think the best runner
of the football we've ever seen. Zay Flowers has added an element there that is taken area we changed.
And then they have this other kid eighty they got a couple of years ago.
Yeah, the tight end, who's fantastic.
And it's just like, oh my god, it's.
They're so powerful. I think he was, you know, he's kind of coming back. But they're kind of hesitant that they might not even need them. I mean, you could argue that they don't even need them right now. So their defense is just so oh physical that they're what I think we thought the Niners were early in the season,
who clearly are not. They hit so violently there, They're two linebackers are absolutely everywhere and every The confidence and the edginess That's one thing that those teams, like early what like fifteen years ago, when Harbaugh and Tomlin got there, those two teams, it was like the Ravens and the Steelers just looked differently and they carried themselves differently. It's why both teams could give this the Patriots some trouble, right, and they did that. Some of those Ravens teams beat
the Patriot team with that Moss era team. And this team, you know, is not as famous. There's no Ed Reid or Ray Lewis on the team, but they feel like they got a similar swag and this quarterback they know no one has that. So yeah, I mean, I I don't know how if they are in the Super Bowl, they are not. They definitely be favored against the Lions. And I know someone, my guy at the Action Network told me they would technically be an underdog based before
these games against the Niners. I don't see how they wouldn't favorite agains the Niners they beat.
I'm this yeah badly. You know, It's funny when they went and got Roquan Smith because I remember saying on the air on FS one, I'm like, you can't pay linebackers this in Chicago. But Chicago didn't have their offense right. And you know Baltimore because they know what they are, Like all great organizations, they know what they are. They went to spend a ton on a linebacker. He's totally changed their defense. If you look at the numbers before
Wilkland Smith got there and now totally changed. We all knew he was a great play was a great player in Chicago, but they had to fix offense for Justin Field. So they couldn't pay a linebacker. They had to see if they could get if Justin Fields could play, so they had to change their spending. Well, if you looked at Baltimore, Baltimore's like, we know who're going to score. We scored twenty seven points with Lamar. We've got to
stop people and nobody can get good corners anymore. So I think Baltimore has a little bit of an old school feel with dominating, bruising linebackers, kind of a run first offense, and kind of a nineteen eighties culture with hardballs. It's just a tough physical element.
Well one thing, you know, I know, you know, I'm Daniel Jeremiah, who I worked with with the Philly's been on the NFL Network forever worked for Ozzie Newsom for a long time, and they used to have this thing like play like a raven and clearly that meant be like tough sob and they have these guys the history of their franchise, right went from Ozzie Newsom now to DaCosta, who is an Ozzie Newsome guy. So the culture had
never changed. They've always liked think about the wide receivers they used to go after, like and Kwon Bold and Steve Smith think about when they drafted people like what you're taking Kyle Hamilton, Well, yeah, that guy is a raven right, big, can hit, can cover, And they know exactly, Like part of being a good organization is more than just coaching, it's also personnel. Identifying the right guys they're going to work in your culture, and they're as good
as anyone in the league. And you watch them. Even Lamar think about his the way he cares himself as a player, his toughness, his willingness to do whatever it takes. Like, to me, that's an underrated characteristic of his ability. Because he throws touchdowns, he's so fast, he can do all these crazy moves, but When I think Lamar, I think a tough dude, you know, and a guy goes right now with Mahomes and Josh Allen can play in this weather. But it's not like Lamar's from New York City, right,
He's completely unfazed by the weather. So yeah, they have a toughness and a physicality to him that always works in the playoffs, Right, That's one thing in the playoffs. Why did the Bucks just kind of survive for a couple weeks because defensively their coordinators throwing guys or hitting people, They're tackling, Like this isn't college football, right, You can't just score a bunch of points you get in these
weather games. You getting these games. Some of those tackles today with the Chiefs and the Bills, like how do these guys get up? Look like guys broke their necks and then the two plays later they'd be back in the game. So that there's a level of physicality in the NFL that, I it's clear gets amped up once the middle of January comes and the Ravens have that in spades.
Yeah. Lamar Jackson is almost the antithesis of Russell Wilson, where Russell is sort of polished. Some think it's inauthentic and never truly close. You know, you always feel like he's almost a politician in a locker room.
It was shocking to see that picture with Pete Carroll's party that Russell was there right right.
Lamar is the opposite. He just is so honest at the podium. He's so honest with his emotions, and everybody loves him, like not every quarterback is beloved. I mean Brady oh As, I always thought that a great job. He could chug beer with Gronk, or he could really go academic with Josh McDaniels. He could be tough. You know, there were so many elements to Tom that he always understood. As he aged to connect with young.
Peyton Sneaky had that quality too, he was good at it.
I don't know if there's a player, I mean, these quarterbacks all make money. I don't think there's a player in the league that plays quarterback that his teammates love more than Lamar. Like he just feels like Baltimore, a little rough, totally authentic, unapologetic. It's he's just such a you know, it's I always laugh when people, you know, I'll get dinged and people, Oh, you didn't think so and so was gonna be any good. Well, first of all,
nobody knows christ the GMS don't know. Everybody passed on you know, Brady six times and brought pretty seven times.
Everyone passed on Lamar, The Ravens passed on them. They took another guy in the first round.
Yeah. But the thing is about Lamar that I always appreciate about Baltimore is that Baltimore said, listen, we're gonna just build a totally different offense. We're just gonna we're gonna hire a coordinator. We're not gonna be great at receiver. And it's just like it, It really is. Most organizations don't have the courage to do that. Yeah, you know, Harball was in big trouble. He puts me. I mean, Harball's Lamar saved his job. And so I think there's
this loyalty with John Harbaugh. It's like, we're just gonna make it work. We're just gonna figure out they well he can't throw, Okay, we're gonna run it more. And then we're gonna get more receivers. I mean, they missed on some receivers. Now they have some draft picks they missed on, and I think it's a great Lamar is a great example when an organization just said, Okay, this guy's dere but he's are different. Like I had a
friend that used to live in New York. He said, yeah, no, it's a pain in the ass, but it's my pain in the ass. I'm from New York. They just said, Lamar, we're gonna be here for you, and we're gonna figure a way to use your superhuman skills. And I think it's just emboldened the whole culture that it is so pro Lamar.
I also think one thing's clearly changed in the sport of football. Steve Young used to always say this that the you know, for running quarterbacks, the way that they were eventually going to take the next step was to become a great pocket passer, because that's always what won
in the playoffs in the eighties and nineties. Well, you watching Josh Allen even mahomes Day busted off like a forty yard run, right Lamar yesterday, Like that translates what he was doing if he's gonna pass, because he's also much more under control, I feel now when he wins than he was three or four years ago, the game slowed down for him. The game's definitely slowed down. But these quarterbacks are so athletic, and the hitting on the quarterbacks. Right in Steve's day, if he ran like some of
these guys, they would have tried to kill him. Legitimately, they would have not sent him to the blue tent. They would have sent him the hospital. And that's not allowed in the game, and these defensive players know it. So that's a huge advantage for these quarterbacks like Lamar, like Josh Allen. That the physicality of the hits, and definitely the cheap shots, like when you're sliding, they have to not touch you so you can run. And Lamar's
pretty good at just getting down. He's not taking these enormous Steve Atwater John Lynch shots where he's laying there and you think he's gonna die. He's getting up. He doesn't even look like he's sweating sometimes. So well.
He also he put on about fifteen pounds. Remember the first year he came in his MVP year, You're like, oh, his traps. He's bigger, and he keeps doing He's gotten a little bigger and stronger every year, so you know, Michael Vicks talked about this, like he got to hit his second year and he's like, yeah, this stuff's punitive Lamar pretty quick. I mean, Lamar is really and this is what the great ones do. He was great when he came into the league, but he's just added elements,
like he's better in the pocket. To your point, he's less frenetic, he's gotten thicker now, he's full fledged pocket quarterback. Whenever he wants to be well, he's very accurate now, very accurate. So it's like he was always good. But I think sometimes we forget John. This is also a
developmental league. They don't these guys don't come in as is a fully formed, refined sandpaper players like Lamar's taking real leaps here in like three his body, his anxiety, his pace, and you remember his first year and a half, he didn't really know how to slide. He was taking shit and.
I mean he still doesn't. He just kind of plops down. But he's good at it. He's good at like Michael Vick. Michael Vick's one of the most spectacular players in NFL history to watch, but he had this quality that he would almost turn into a defensive player when he ran and try to prove his toughness and take on and he couldn't slide either, but he couldn't even hit the ground. And he would take on shots and he broke ribs.
He got injured a lot. Lamar for a very very tough guy, we don't need you to prove your toughness avoid everything. And that's I'd argue. One of his great skills is being at and this is i mean, probably one of the top five athletes in the NFL. When two guys are coming at full speed, he can just hit the ground. They both miss him, because if you do take a shot and you break a rib, the Ravens would be in major trouble. He knows that. I'm
sure he's told that all the time. And now he's just you know, he's just completely confident of his speed relative to defensive speeds.
Now.
The one thing with the Chiefs and he saw it tonight. Their DB's hit, right, I mean justin Reid Eircreed's brother is throwing his shoulders around on their corners hit. So you gotta be and we'll see Willie gay situation Bolton. I mean, they're back seven, we'll throw their body around so I would imagine that's a point this whole week
in Baltimore. Let's be very very careful and pick our spots, get out of bounds, extra couple of yards, live to fight another down because we cannot, because they're gonna come after him, right anytime he's running spag Nola old school coach. Right, Well, he's made history for killing Brady. They're gonna come after
him when he's running around. So I would imagine part of the game plan is going to beating them through the air, which he's proven he can do now, which makes him I'm an unsempable player.
So finally we got about ten minutes left here an overarching thing. So we have San Francisco Detroit. I think it's going to be very competitive of Baltimore Kansas City. I think Baltimore wins, but again Kansas City's the wildcard because they've been in this game so many times. Go back to the Green Bay San Francisco game. One of the things and I touched on it earlier that I
really watched, and I touched on this last week. I said, forget about Aaron Rodgers' political comments and vaccines shit, and people can have their opinions. I don't really care. I really don't care. I mean, COVID, I've got strong feelings, you know here there. It doesn't really matter. I don't care. But it is interesting that if you look at Brady and Stafford how strategic they were, and Russell Wilson to a degree, I'm going to go to an offensive coach.
I want to make sure we have a good left tackle. I want to have weapons. Aaron signed off on the Jets and as I'm you know, worst left tackle situation in the league, defensive coach, one weapon, tougher conference, tougher division is I was watching Green Bay. You know, it's like usually when a star quarterback leaves, there's a dip, you know, Peyton Manning leaves or a Brady there's a
clear dip. Stafford left the Lions. We forget they were like four and nineteen, you know, with Dan Campbell and Goff. I watched Green Bay and I'm like, is this the worst Green Bay team we're gonna see for the next five years? I honestly, honestly think if this Green Bay team faced last year's with Aaron, they would kick the shit out of it. Like I watched that team and I'm like John, they're a matchup problem. Nobody has three corners in this league, and all these young receivers are
getting better. Not only did Green Bay not hick up? I look at it and is Aaron watching this thinking what did I leave?
I think if we were having beers right now with Gudhakins in the floor, do you know what they would say? Our bigg regret was not trading h when he wanted in twenty twenty two and when we gave him one hundred and fifty million dollars and we ended up trading him the next year because we were already listen, we already drafted the kid. This guy was already kind of playing with our emotions, going back and forth. We should
have pulled the trigger right then. And I think if they had a do over, they would have shipped him to Denver or what it just got just taking the band aid off then, and they didn't. They got pressured right he had won a couple MVPs. It would have been difficult. But can you imagine if they had this guy two years into it now? Their organization has always been, at least in my life, once ron Wolf got there in the early nineties, a lot like the Steelers, a
lot like this Ravens. I mean, how well does that team just draft? They always get a lot of shit for not paying money. Their organization is not like these other organizations. Now it's not you don't have an owner. You can attack, you got a board, you got this president, but he's not the owner. What the hell is going on. It's a complicated situation. But they run a high level football team, right, yes, and so you go, well, they know how to put guys around. I mean Aaron Rodgers
went to the Jets. Think about that. He went to the Jets. Of all places, it's been one thing like hey, I'm gonna go to the Patriots and try to reclaim some glory with Bill Belichick. He went to the Jets. So now he's old. Also, the other thing is, in the history of sports, most guys like him do fall off a cliff like I'm betting against him ever being good again. Honestly, those three or four plays before he tore his achilles, he didn't look a step slow, like
he's not. He's forty years old, thirty nine years old. So I think the Packers listen, it's it's never the wrong time to do the right thing, and they got out and they have to feel pretty good about their situation right now. I bet they would have wish they would have done in twenty two and not paid them all the money and ruined their cap this year.
Think about this Detroit. Ben Johnson's gonna leave, Yeah, and they're gonna have to pay Golf in a year, So it's very possible we're seeing I mean, we think this Detroit thing is gonna last forever, but gof's gonna start getting expensive. Ben Johnson's gonna look.
At the Eagles. They couldn't replace an offensive coordinator. It's hard.
I think Dak, you're gonna have to pay Dak Dak, Ceedee, Lamb and Mica are gonna be one hundred million plus, So there's gonna be limitation to that roster. And we don't trust the Cowboys.
And Boys and can you imagine the pressure on that order. I mean, Mike's gonna coach on his last year of his contract. That's got disaster written all over in.
San Francisco, Kittle, Trent Williams, McCaffrey, they're getting old. In key spots, They're getting really old.
They gotta pay ayyuk, I mean it gets complicated.
Yeah. I just looked at Green Ban. I was like, let me tell you something. Stafford probably has two years left. I looked at them, and I'm like, San franciscoes getting old and it is rock pretty. The Lions are gonna lose Ben Johnson and have to Dallas is going to have to pay their three stars. Seattle's got a great roster, but I didn't have a quarterback. I just kept watching Green Ban. I'm like, this is the worst version. I mean, all these receivers, all these tight ends, they're old lines,
like top four in the league. I was just taken back by there. There's no hiccup this team in Green Bay. And also I went back to this, I'm like, the first Lafleur's a great coach. Yeah, I don't know. I just you can if you look around corner and you see over the next two years, even if they redo the Jordan Love contract after next year, I mean they I don't know where he'll go with that, But my guess is Jordan Love's not gonna end up being a
fifty five million dollar quarterback. I just don't think it's that's not who he is.
You wouldn't think. But if he has another thirty five touchdown season and they are, you know, top four seed, it's just kind of the going rate it would you'd have to pay him a lot of money. Maybe you're better off franchising. To me that I have no questions with their offense. Right if you just view Laflora as a star offensive coach, which I don't know how you couldn't the talent they have around him, I would say on the McCarthy and now the laflor Era, defensively, they've
been a question mark. And when you look at the other teams. McVeigh his defenses are good. Kyle Shanahan, his defenses are good. Even right now, the Detroit Lions, their defense is flying around like that is an area like when I was young and you know, Home Bran and Andy, their defenses were awesome for far. Can they build a defensive culture there that they really have not had with their last two offensive coaches, And they've tried, They've gone
through a bunch of defensive coordinators. They invest a lot of draft capitol and defensive players, but it does not look over the course of the last fifteen years with star offensive players like the other top teams, even the Chiefs now they rebuilt that defense crushing people, the Ravens, the Steelers forever, and obviously the team's in their division. So to me, if they can get their defense just to be competing, to be like a top ten unit, then they're a double digit win team for the next
five years. But if that's always a question mark, if you get some injuries, you never know that. That's been an area of question though for that franchise. In my opinion, that's going to be Are they going to fire Joe Berry? There's a lot of pressure now that he saved his job. Can they get more out of these players? Do they maybe invest a little bit more on that side of the ball with some with some money if they have
a cheap quarterback for this upcoming year. To me, if you tell me they have a top ten defense next year, but I got this team could compete to be like the number one seed.
Yeah. The So, as we wrap it up, John Middlecoff, former NFL scout three and outs his podcast. We do this hour long on Sunday nights, so Atlanta and the Chargers are announcing everybody they interview. They want it out there and I think some of that is if they don't land Harbaugh, they want or Belichick, they want their fans to know we swung big. I was told by somebody who I trust, he really thinks the Chargers are
going to pay for Harbaugh. He really believes it. Do you think there's I mean, between the fact that he owns Ohio State, he's losing all those players. The Big Ten's not getting easier. This is maybe the This year is the final year where you can say we have one big game of year where we have a physical equal.
Ohio stages landed half of Alabama's roster. You see that.
I saw that a quarterback, that high school quarterback who knows what to be as a collegiate.
But I can't think the safety is like Ed Reed junior.
Yeah, so Ohio State's back in terms of like high end players at the right positions. Would you be surprised if Harba stayed in college.
No, I fully expect him to leave. And I mean I've everyone thought that I've been talking to that thinks this Harbaugh just the Chargers deal as long as he's cool with it, like it has been a done deal for a while. I mean, there are rumors about they talked during that Rose Bowl week whatever, a couple of weeks ago. I think clearly the Chargers, I mean, they fell faced so much negativity. How long can you be called cheap and irrelevant before eventually you kind of draw a line
in the sand. And we've talked so much about the money. I mean, these are just line items to him. I think he had kind of decided on that more than likely a long time ago, that he was coming back to the NFL, and once he kind of saw the landscape, that was the choice. I actually find it more fascinating on Belichick and the Falcons. Do you remember around the draft there were some rumors about Belichick, like in Baker Mayfield. Remember he was kind of interested and they were sniffing around, Well,
Baker's a free agent, he needs a quarterback. Are we sure that Belichick wouldn't try to get Baker Mayfield? Baker looks pretty solid, right, just kind of play within that offense. Yeah, Harbaugh to the Chargers and Baker Mayfield and Belichick to the Atlanta Falcons' If I was a betting man right now, not the Baker thing, I think that would be cool. But I think it's pretty clear that Harbaugh Chargers and really where else is Belichick going. I mean, that's really
his only option. It feels like right now is Atlanta.
Yeah, you know, it's people. And I've said this with Baker, I'd have no problem signing him up for three to four years. I even thought today they just don't have the players. But I thought I thought he looked good. He you know, I mean, he gets into trouble when he thinks he's more athletic than he is and he moves out of the pocket and it's like, Baker, throw it away. He'll extend play sometimes and you're like, come on, Baker, this is not what you're not. That's not your game.
But if you give him time, let him sit back and step into it.
I think he's tailor made for a dome too, with some of those weapons in Atlanta.
Absolutely. And you know what's interesting in this league with Baker is that, I mean Gino Smith's a great example is it's become such a quarterback centric league, is that there's reclamation projects. If I can pay you somewhere between eighteen and twenty four, what do I care? The going right now is in the fifties, So I look at Baker and I'm like, if I could get him for twenty six, I'm paying half of what Dak makes, and I'm not so sure he doesn't to a better ball
than Dak. So to me, Baker's got a real market. I mean, everybody loves justin Field, but I'm still not sure he can sit in the pocket and throw darts. I know Baker can't.
I take Baker all day long over Justin Fields right now.
I think Baker's markets better than people think it is.
I totally agree. I Also, I haven't talked to you since the Raiders named Antonio Pierce. I think anytime in the NFL, and I get Max Crosby's excellent player, and obviously so it's DeVante. But when you start letting the players like this isn't Lebron or Steph Curry. When you let them dictate and listen to Antonio Piers, team can apt in Super Bowl team. No one questions his leadership ability.
But they have no offense. They have no quarterback or offensive coordinator in a in a division that has Andy Reid, who's back in his conference championship for one hundred times. Jim Harbaugh is gonna go with Justin Herbert and Sean Payton that their team's never gonna be worse, and he found a way to win eight games, right, So that's that's and I understand Mark. I don't know who else he's gonna hire, but that seems a little risky when you just start listening to your players in this sport.
It's because so much of a team game. If this was the NBA and Max Crosby was honest, okay, but it's like, well, you could have fifteen sacks and I can still win seven games.
Yeah, John, This is why the interim situation's really tough, because what happens is everybody gets a natural energy bounce from an intro have as coach every time, and the Raiders have enough. I mean, if you go back, the Raiders have enough playmakers, you can be this is a very competent team. And especially when you play those divisional rivals Kansas City the Chargers in Denver, those games are close. They were close three years ago and the Chiefs were stacked.
So my takeaway is once you do that, and once you blew out Josh, you knew this team was because Josh is so despised as a guy he was just the just that Antonio former player is going to be loved, and so it was just like it's like the Raiders couldn't quite see around the corner. It's like, guys, you're just setting yourself up. And I hope Antonio Pierce works, but we have to admit it. We watched today a defensive coach, Sean McDermott get beat by an offensive coach
on the most at home. Finally with a run game with the most vulnerable Patrick Mahomes is going to be And so now we have two offensive coaches in the NFC. In the championship, we have an offensive coach against kind of a special team. I don't consider Harbaugh defensive coach. I think he's done everything. He's very unique and so like to me, it's like it's a risk Harbaugh Sean Peyton read six games a year.
It's not easy. Sorry means good luck.
I wish him the very best. All right, this is good stuff. Got a great weekend coming up. We'll talk again. John's great, great CNU and appreciate it.
You no prom call and talk to you soon. The volume