The volume.
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I liked Army. I mean, everything went wrong. Thank god there wasn't a big college football weekend. So let's start with Philadelphia. Jalen Hurts. I mean, the guy had nothing but time. The old line for Philadelphia was fantastic. He's twenty five to thirty two, two touchdowns, no picks. I mean it was really to watch him kind of do whatever he wanted to do in the second half, twenty seven to thirteen Philadelphia. You know, now, George Pickens was
out for Pittsburgh. He was a go either way. If I could do it over again, I wouldn't have taken the Steelers with him out again. I guess it's the hamstring. But I mean that's second half for Philadelphia. I can say all I want about Nick Ceriani that second half.
I mean we.
Always say script first half, second half as players. I don't know what to make of it. Pittsburgh's defense. They clinched, by the way, a playoff spot, even losing because of the Chargers loss. What did you make of Philadelphia? I was kind of jaw dropping.
You know, I was pacing around before the afternoon game started. I thought about putting a large wager on the Steelers money line, and I thought about ten minutes into that game, it was obvious the Steelers were in major trouble. They could not cover the two wide receivers. You know, the game plan is always going to be to corral Sakwon Barkley. Well, they held him. He didn't sniff one hundred yards. Yeah. Well, aj Brown and DeVante Smith had twenty catches over two
hundred yards and he's had a touchdown. I mean that had to be given the circumstance and the level of competition. One of Jalen's best games in a long long time. He was under complete control Kellen Moore. I thought the two coordinators, Kellen Moore and Vic Fangio dominated that game. And like Listen, Syriotti's head coach, so he's got credit to I mean, that was a that was a dominant team effort start to finish.
Yeah, Naji Harris's fumbled the little bit of life Pittsburgh had in the second half when Naji Harris fumbles as they're driving in. They weren't taking a lead, but they were competitive.
You know. It was funny.
They only had eighty first half yards and they only trailed seventeen thirteen, So I'm like, God, if they can just muster two point fifty, they have a chance to pull it out. And then Nase Harris fumbled, You know it. It's one of those things and I try to avoid this.
I try to.
Avoid confirmation bias, and I mean, like Dan Campbell is what he is even today with that on side kick. He's just a risk taker. I don't like his situational football, but I do feel like Sirianni's one of those coaches I used to cover. Mike Bellatti was the coach of Oregon, and I always thought Mike was a good coach highly dependent on his coordinators. So and that's okay. I didn't feel that as much with Belichick or an Andy Reid,
especially Andy Reid, but Steve Spagnola obviously elevates him. But is it possible that Sirioni's a solid to good coach, highly reliant on coordinators. And it looks like he's hit on two more so he had two hits, two misses and two hits. Yeah.
I mean, I think a lot of CEO head coaches are very dependent on coordinators. You know, Sirianni is an offensive guy. He can't call the offense, so it's a pretty unique circumstance. I mean, Tomin's defenses are always awesome, and he obviously has a huge role in that. If you watch that, you know, four team hard knocks, he's sitting in with the defense. He plays a big role
in the mentality Siriani. I mean he's getting into it at the end of the game with Jalen Carter and the defensive line coach and Big Dom separating everybody after. It's just the Eagles have an infrastructure of they're like a collegiate team that's like Georgia LSU, where they got a pipeline to elite players and starts with the front office and Howie Roseman. I mean, they got good players everywhere. I mean their defensive line, they invest the offensive line,
the coaching staff. You know, he Inherit Stoutlin, who is an incredible offensive line coach. I think, yeah, Brady was on that call he's talking about you know, McKay Becton was a disaster with the Jets. They're like, yeah, we'll take him and we'll move him to right guard and then it'll be one of the better guards in the season. You know, in the year. How many teams could have pulled that off. Probably not many. So they're really good at talent evaluation. They take big swings and they hit
on a lot of them. I talked to a buddy with over the last week about Jalen Carter. Jalen Carter could not have functioned in a lot of places. You know, I think some of the teams that passed on them, like Atlanta, get a lot of shit. The Eagles were uniquely equipped, I think with you know, veteran defensive linemen. They had Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham still around and now Vic Fangio around him can really you know, Vic's been around the block a few times. But the talent today,
the Eagles just have more talent. And Russell Wilson, he's been good this season, but you remove George Pickens and he sat today against a better team, it was like whoa, they got issues their passing game. You know, tight ends a good player. But outside the little guy Austin can only do so much. What's he He's not that tall of a guy. So Russell doesn't have his DK metcalf is George Pickens where he can just throw that lollipop to you. Felt it today big time. Yeah.
You feel with a lot of teams in the NFL. I mean, obviously the bill are very much led by Josh Allen, but you feel with certain teams, like even good teams, you feel you know, you're sort of led by an individual player. Pittsburgh without George Pickens, it's just not the same team. But you start watching Philadelphia today and there are Sundays at Saquon Barklay and the O line dominate. Today. It was their wide receivers in Jalen Hurts. Sometimes it's their defensive front.
I don't know.
I just I watched Philadelphia today and I don't want to overreact, and I'm looking at some notes here. It is it is really hard to watch that game today with Philadelphia, and you know, I'm looking at some notes here. Pittsburgh's first half offense two point seven yards of play. I mean, how do you not put the Eagles in the Super Bowl. Nothing against Detroit. I love their offense,
they are so beat up defensively. Now that I watched Phildelphia, I watched Philadelphia and I'm like, I don't even think Detroit matches up with him, do you?
No, well not right now with their defense. I mean, they lost McNeil today to a foot injury immediately out. They've already missed a bunch of guys. You know, one thing that jumped out to me this week is when the AJ Brown thing happened on Sunday and then Brandon Graham goes on his radio show and basically says, you know, they're calling it fake news, Like the story wasn't created by the media, it was created by their player saying
they don't like each other. So I was pretty excited to see Sirianni in that press conference because even he kind of opens up, like, right, I know where he got a big game this week, but I understand the
questions aren't going to be about that. I thought it was pretty impressive the way he handled the press conference in regards to AJ and Jalen, And you talk about a guy who's been under the firing line now for a couple of years and the pressure cooker of Philadelphia, just the way he kind of just I would say, dimmed the fire. He couldn't put it out because it's not gonna happen in Philadelphia, but he could settle it a little bit. And by game time he's got eight catches,
one hundred and ten yards and a touchdown. And everyone knew that they were gonna, you know, involve him in the offense, but he was really involved in the offense. So now everyone's happy. The great part about the NFL unlike a lot of industries where it's like half the company doesn't care about the quarterly earnings, in football, if you win, it'll quiet everyone down. If you get a wide receiver a few passes, everyone could well take a
deep breath and that's what happens. So it's like, oh, how are they gonna look because if it went weird today with Jalen and aj Yeah, and they even if they wanted to be like, oh, something's still up, no one can say anything now. Well.
And I also think sometimes and I keep going back to Sirianni, but people do, even talented people, they learn on the job.
You know.
I I've told destroy before. I had a friend she was really talented, and she took a job. She was working at like I, you know, Oracle for years and years, and she took a job at Google, and she said the first six months she was terrified. She literally would drive to work panicking, I don't know what I'm doing. And I remember telling her, like, that's what you should be doing in life. You should never be ready for a job. You should be qualified, talented enough to excel.
But who's ready to coach the Philadelphia Eagles. It's never been a head coach like I mean, Chip Kelly's like got caught between the crosshairs of Howie and Lewie and the media, and Chip Kelly's been a head coach. And I think I think Philadelphia is just uniquely difficult. It's a hard place to coach. The media has impact the GM's the strongest and the most opinionated in the league. I mean, you work for the organization. There are tough
places to coach in this league. You know, Green Bay no owner, small media, very I would say, static, stoic front office, no yellers, no screamers. Mark Murphy, that's a pretty easy and they get the core right, so you're almost always have a quarterback. Philadelphia is one of the rare, excellent franchises. Very difficult to coach.
You also didn't you know obviously in the climate now with social media and the Internet. I would imagine when Andy took over in the late nineties for Ray Rhoads. It was intense then, but it's it's got to be on steroids now with the version of the Internet and the pressure with social media with all the players, I think you left out. A key figure too, is the
owner's got opinions. Colin Now, I wouldn't call it. Jeffrey Luriy is a very supportive you know, he's a great owner to work for because the checkbooks always open anything you need. But he's got takes. I mean, I listen, I wasn't invited to these meetings, but clearly when Doug got kind of pushed out every week. You know, it wasn't just Howie meet and when the owner was there. The owner's son now is involved analytically the analytic department, because that's kind of how he's you know, how he's
I would call it true hybrid. He does everything. He watch his tape, but you know, from contracts to analytics, like he's involved in it all. So there's just a lot of people in the kitchen, but they function that well or that way right. They're very comfortable in a dysfunctional, pressure filled operation because they've been good really now, I mean the moment Andy showed up, they have really been consistently good. Moving on, I mean, Kyle, they're twelve and two.
They were just I mean last year they were whatever nine and one, ten and one, and they truly fell apart, but they were still ten and one. I mean, think how many teams would just die to even have that ability.
Think about this. They fired Doug Peterson he won a Super Bowl. They fired Jip Kelly, he had a winning record. I mean, so you start looking at them, they've been good for about twenty five straight years mostly have been a good franchise.
I think one thing They're really talented at is pivoting, and you talk about this a lot, like they will pivot fast. And when they did that, off Carson Wentz and they accumulated all those picks and then they could maneuver. They could trade one pick for aj Brown, they still had multiple ones. They're always doing shit and they're always I mean, look at the Saquan acquisition. Mlin this week called it the best acquisition of the offseason. He was
available to everybody. Now, I understand he was more inclined, kind of chip on his shoulder for the Giants, but it's not like how he offered him fifty million dollars. So listen, he wanted to go there. They gave him twenty seven million dollars guaranteed. We see in free agency guards you're getting fifty. So how he was aggressive and it's been perfect, But what Aj Brown? Why is the other team he was aggressive? He gave a first round pick.
They're just very, very aggressive. Listen, you talk about being nervous. It's really served me and my life well, I think since I left the Eagles, that's an intense place to work. And how he is an intense guy and if you can handle that and survive that you can handle most
things in life. And he is from I still have a lot of friends there, including how he his personality is his personality and it starts there at Sirianni is a high emotional guy, and that's why I think Dom has played a bigger Dom's there to kind of you know, last year he became a star with a pushing incident with Drake Greenlaw or became a you know his name,
everyone kne who he was. But he's really there just to calm who was in the middle of Jalen Carter, highly emotional, crazy guy who just had an awful penalty and Sirianni screaming at each other. Dom's right there trying to pull them all back. So I think they just they just know how to function kind of in dysfunction, and they do it at an extreme. I mean, beside the Cheeks over the last and like the Bills over the last four years, who's won more games.
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Okay Buffalo forty eight, Lions thirty five. I thought the Lions off rest despite some defensive injuries. I thought Buffalo's defense has it was just a sieve against the Rams. Well, it wasn't great today, but the Lions couldn't get any rhythm. I thought you saw Goff's lack of mobility and key spots juxtaposed against Josh Allen's athletic ability. It felt like the difference in the game is that, you know, if you really look at was twenty one fourteen at half,
and Buffalo was just clearly the better team. But I really think, and I think I said something like this last week, there were things about Detroit Today again they were banged up and the Rams young defense is good, but Josh Allen had his way as well against the Rams. I think you can make an argument and I don't think this is I don't think what I'm saying is
even shocking. I think Josh Allen maybe the most talented quarterback not only to play this game, but I think he sort of distanced himself from Mahomes and John Elway in terms of his running. Now, I mean he is he doesn't even have to do it. They had or five hundred yards. I always thought Elway and Mahomes, I thought those are the two most talented, you know, athletes court I mean, Marino was great, but he wasn't that athlete.
Brady's obviously highly productive. I think Alan is separated from even like Elway and Mahomes in terms of just raw traits, horse power. I'm watching him today. If there was a league above the NFL, there'd be about twelve guys in it and he would be the first teamer. I don't know how you defend him. Now, they have a run gat got, James Cook averaged eight point six yards per play? How many one handed catches did they make? Today? But to me, it all goes back to Alan. How do you defend him?
Yeah, I thought today kind of became official, like he's the MVP of the league and now you can check that box and the best player yeah to be. It's it's clear like I think there was a gap. Honestly, I would say Lamar is a better player right now than Mahomes. Now. It's not you know, you could make arguments for Mahomes cast, but I think you know, Josh
is one I've been saying forever. If you talk to anyone with the Chiefs, like they've played all these guys in the big games, he is by far the harder guy for them to play of anyone in the NFL. Yeah, I mean it's not even close. He has played excellent against them, specific a team that nobody plays well against. The Niners crumble, Lamar crumbles. Yet Josh Allen when you look at his numbers one in the playoffs. That's the
other thing you know. Oftentimes, like, let's face it, Lamar is kind of the NFL's version of like Harden and Russell right now. What he's doing in the in the regular season now, like he's an elite regular season player, his numbers are always going to be elite. He is at the point now it's simply gonna be judged on the couple games in January right Well, now, Josh, he's gonna get that MVP, so he's gonna be But his playoff numbers have been excellent. If anything, his coach has
cost him the game. A couple of times his field goal kickers cost him the game. But I think, you know, he's the first player you talk about like what he's doing right now compared to these older greats. I saw a tweet he's the first player since nineteen forty eight to have back to back games with two passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns. Yeah. So he's playing with the greatest rushing quarterback of all time in Lamar Jackson, and
Lamar's never even done that. So it's like, now they got a real running back, which is something they've lacked over the last three or four years, and James became that last year and he's carried it over well. Josh is one of the better running quarterbacks I've ever seen. So you have a great running quarterback and an elite running back and then the passing game. They are kind
of like the Rogers Packers. It feels like if they played in a dome, they would be borderline unbeatable because you've seen him now back to back games and a dome, yes, and he's looked like a video game player. It's been completely unfair.
Yeah, it's you know when when when the Mariners built that new stadium, Safeco, they called it like the stadium the Griffy built. You know, it was like it felt like there didn't he leave, Yeah, but they it felt like Seattle may lose baseball. And then the Ken Griffy they beat the Yankees. They eventually went on the Mariners to lose to a better Cleveland team. But it was like it was the impetus to get a new stadium
from the outdated Kingdome. And you know with Buffalo, when I see the new stadium, they have covered it for fans. But if that game would have been played today in Buffalo, then a blizzard. I mean it would have been seventeen thirteen, maybe you couldn't have seen the field. And it is I am a little surprised that Buffalo didn't go. Listen, we have nine years of this guy. We may just want to build a stadium to really you know, I
know it sounds weird. We all know that. You know, like you know that you cut the grass in football. If you've got a faster team, you want to play on a fast track. If you have a slower team, remember the Charlie Weiss, who was at Notre Dame's team that lost to Pete Carroll and usc who was the Notre Dame coach.
I forget, Yeah, it was wise like Brady Quinn and those guys.
Yeah, us he had Reggie Bush and they were saying that they hadn't mowed the grass in a week. They wanted it thick. But you watch Buffalo and you think to yourself that weather now almost is the only thing that can beat like him playing in a blizzard if you put him in normal weather indoors. I mean, we are watching the Otani of the NFL. He's just different than everybody else.
I always thought about this with the Packers. You know, over the far of Rogers, and I know their defense over the Rogers era let them down in some big games, but they had years with those two guys where it was like, if you put them in a controlled environment, you were not going to have a better quarterback on
the field than that guy. But in freezing cold, I mean, the coldest places to play in the league, ironically, are it feels like I mean that with good teams, the Bears suck are Green Bay and Buffalo, who consistently and the Chiefs, and like the Chiefs have built themselves into a defensive team and a gritty team. The Packers they're about to play, but I mean they are built offensive weapons. Buffalo they want to play like the greatest show on turf.
Look how comfortable they have been these last two weeks. It's just harder to do that in the Blizzard. But I think right now, you know, I mean, I think Mahomes it looks like he's gonna be okay. But how would you not pick Buffalo in to represent the AFC. If this guy's going to play like this, as long as he's healthy, I would bet on him to win the AFC.
Yeah, right now, Philadelphia and Buffalo feel like, if not safe, prohibitive favorites to play in the Super Bowl. You know, it's interesting. We have so many topics today, you know, I thought it was interesting. The Broncos now was the final thirty one to thirteen over the Colts. The Broncos thirty one thirteen, so Bo Nicks had yeah and also finished with three touchdowns. I got to tell you something. The Colts had a great game plan, dominated early twenty
to seven lead. If Jonathan Taylor doesn't drop I never thought of Jonathan Taylor as a knucklehead, but the minute he did that, I just kind of put him in a different camp. I'm like, oh, oh, you're one of those guys like Okay, Jonathan Taylor, for the uninitiated, dropped a long touchdown run at the goal line and it's called back. But what I thought was really interesting today is the Bronco bo Knicks was overshooting his targets, really struggling.
You know, they they both had time off, so we came in with a ton of energy and didn't use it to his advantage. But they go in at halftime and Anthony Richardson at one point was twelve for twenty nine, no touchdowns, two picks they made. That was classic coaching. They made adjustments at halftime, and the Colts offense dried up and bow Nicks, despite a horrible first half John he came, they didn't quit on him. They did not quit. That a huge return by Mims. They continue to let
bow Nicks throw. And my two takeaways in this game is I'm not sure Anthony Richardson. I'm not sure he's a starting quarterback in the league. I just don't think he sees the field at all. And my second take is Sean Payton's the coach of the year. This team is gonna make the playoffs. And they're not only gonna make the playoffs, they now can win when they play poorly. They beat the Jets when they played poorly on the road,
They played poorly for three quarters today. Or how surprised are you by it?
Well? I thought at one point in time in the game, it felt like there were twenty five turnovers. They were throwing picks every other series, I think, I mean, how good is Benito that the pass rusher the Holy God against? And I thought that play was pretty symbolic. You know, the game's kind of on the line, and they have a top five quarterback and they got to run a
crazy trick play. Why because the guy can't function? I mean, I really think Jonathan Taylor's lucky that his quarterback is such a disaster, because that story's gonna I would say, overtake his drop. He was that bad. He was atrocious. You can't function with him, Colin, I mean, he's you can't. You saw bow Dix, listen, he looked like a rookie early in that game. He got fooled on a pass.
He threw another pass right to a linebacker. It was just your classic when Jonathan Taylor was running the ball in there, you just went, hey, this is one of your classic rookie games where he just has a complete dud. You lose, but it's not the end of the world. Cults are desperate, their seasons on the line. And then that all of a sudden, I looked up and I was like, how did Denver have the ball? And then you look Denver realized what happened, and then Denver went Clift.
Denver out scored in the twenty four to nothing after the Taylor fumble forced three turning rovers, including a pick six. And I think to your point is the Taylor fumble will get all the attention. But now think about this. We all know how good Shane Steikeen is. That goes without saying he made Jalen Hurts an MVP level quarterback. Jalen Hurts today looked alike that regularly with Shane Steikin. That's what he looked like all the time with Shane Steikeen.
Now it's an outlier. Justin Herbert broke records, he made Gardner Minshew last year, like one game from the playoffs. He couldn't do anything in the second half, like he has halfs. He can't do anything with Anthony Richardson. Bow Knicks can struggle, but John, they'll go into half, they'll come out and bo Nix is firing and accurate and moving like there's a big gap between those two.
To me, bow Knicks has a rhythm and a feel to his game and can function from within the pocket. Now he's still got to get better. He's a rookie. Anthony Richardson can has no feel, cannot function, has no touch. I mean he threw a pick today on like a lollipop throw. It was like what it looks like a
junior high pass. Yeah, and obviously, and I think these are the worst type players are the ones that are truly physically gifted, because it's like, ah, if we could just I think you could just go, this is never gonna work. I mean the likelihood. We have seen the occasional guys improve on accuracy. You know, Josh Allen is a great example. Lamar. Clearly, Anthony Richardson feels like he
regresses or not even he's just bad. He just when it comes to throwing from within the pocket, you cannot function in the modern day NFL with a quarterback like that. And why Denver was in such trouble before he dropped the ball. It's like they're gonna get two hundred and eighty yards on the ground between Anthony Richdon and Jonathan Taylor. That's the only way they can beat you. Yeah, But then they got the lead and all of a sudden, Anthony Richardson had to pass and it was like, Ah,
this is not gonna work. And I don't think that's coachable at this point. Yeah, you know, I think it's clear he has touch feel issues that you just can't overcome. Listen, Jalen Hurts is never gonna be Peyton Manning or Aaron Rodgers from the pocket right or Drew Brees or a true pocket quarterback. But you go back to Oklahoma and Alabama, there is a feel to play quarterback. There are things he does pretty well, even Anthony Richardson on the move.
Like one thing Jalen does a great job of is when he scrambles, keeps his eyes and can make a very accurate pass. You watch Anthiy Richardson scrambles and he'll throw these two and are mile an hour fastballs that will skip by the wide receiver's feet, who's kind of open running back to the sideline. You're like, I just don't think he can get his body to do touch passes. And I think it's very, very difficult for a guy. And listen, we've seen this in baseball for a long time.
Guys that only throw one hundred and got nothing else and they can't throw a strike. Usually all of a sudden, the light doesn't switch or you know, the switch doesn't light up and go boom, Okay, I'm accurate now, or I can throw a bunch of strikes. It feels I don't listen, I'm no expert on mechanics with throwing, but there is some twitch muscle in his shoulder that doesn't allow him jalen some of these Kyler Murray, I watched him when he scrambles, he can do, you know, touch
lollipop passes. Anthony Richardson is just throwing as hard as humanly possible. He would have way more picks if he didn't throw the ball so hard.
The you know, I look at all these games because I want to talk about brock Purty, Belichick and the Heisman Trophy with you but I will say I'll just throw this out there, Bucks forty Chargers seventeen six straight defensive stops. Todd Bowles in that defense against Herbert, the number one defense in the league, gave up forty. Mike Evans was a problem for the Chargers. And I'll tell you there's clearly an upper crust right now in the league.
Kansas City, I think Baltimore, Buffalo, I think Detroit, maybe Green Bay. By the time we're doing this, if they win tonight in Seattle, I think they will. I think they're a better team, but don't trust me. And I think Philadelphia. Then there's a second level of teams, and I think we put Pittsburgh in there, maybe a Houston maybe for whatever reasons, we don't want to put Tampa in there. But they kicked the shit out of the Chargers today. I mean that they Chargers couldn't run on them.
Herbert was constantly under duress. Meanwhile, Baker Mayfield had time to throw. Their receivers were beating the secondary for the Chargers. I thought it was I didn't By the second half, I didn't even know what the Chargers offensive plan was. Between Jason Light's roster, the GM and Baker Mayfield. He and Darnold. And by the way, Baker can still throw really bad picks. He's got him within his game. But I was watching that today and you can't run on Tampa.
Can't run on him. Vida v in the middle, can't run on him. Todd Bowles has always been an excellent defensive coordinator. I'm sitting watching it and I'm like, they're going to beat somebody in the playoffs. You better be careful that team. I mean, that's the kind of team that could go to Philadelphia. Is a nine point dog. Saque couldn't run the Weather's and you end up with a twenty one to twenty football game.
To me, well, they got a couple of things going for him. One, they got high end offensive players. I mean, Bucky Irving is really good. The running back. Baker Mayfield has played in multiple playoff games now and won them. Right, go back to twenty twenty against the Steelers, you know, last year against the Eagles. So he's comfortable. He's a bright lights guy, and I'm with you. Early on in that game he throws that pick, You're like, oh, this
Mentor Charger defense gonna be tough. And then he settled down. The different The gap between the offensive skill guys on this team or you know, between the two teams was pretty evident. Is JK. Dobbins Walter Payton or something? How can they lose him and not function in the run game without the guy? I don't get it. I like JK. Dobbins as much as the next guy. Seems like an
impressive guy and good player. But a hardball team has especially this one with their offensive skill, has no chance against an average, a non playoff team running the ball for thirty two yards. Looking right now, they had a lean rushes for thirty two yards. Jim Harbaugh, if you go back since he's been coached at San Diego, that is a recipe to lose. Now, obviously they got back or they got behind, so they had to try to get back into the game and throw the ball. But
then they're not built to do that. What he's done with Quentin Johnson, to me is pretty commendable. The guy has eight touchdowns. I mean, last year we're talking about the guy's a complete bus and actually he's kind of a functional player. But you know it's basically him and McConkey. You're not coming back on Mike Evans, who was going straight to the Hall of Fame. Yatton is a good player, right,
and McMillan had a big game today. I mean they just once they lost Godwin, you went, I don't know, and Evans had hurt the Hammy Evans came back, shows no signs of that hamstring, and other guys have stepped up. And the other thing that at the end of the Brady era, remember it was like they're historically shitty running team. And then a couple of years later they got Bucky Irving and he's now the starter and he just he has big plays every game. And the Baker the momentum.
Remember when Dorsey drafted Baker, a lot of it was on like the bravado and cocky. Yes, you can't have that in the NFL when you're not playing well, but I would say for the last two years in Tampa, his energy is pretty palpable to them and you feel it when they get rolling and they're best player. Mike Evans, they clearly have a pretty InCor. For as shitty as the rapport was with him and OBJ back in the day, theirs is high level and it showed the day. I
mean it was the Charges had no answer. And here's the other thing. Obviously, the Charges can't run the ball. If their defense isn't covering people that they're in major that's their formula. They can't win any other way.
So the Bucks have won four straight. In each game, they've had four hundred plus yards and one hundred fifty plus rushing yards. So it's White, it's Bucky Irving, it's Baker playing with a ton of confidence. And they also have they had like an unsportsman like conduct. They're chirpye like they're they're they're the worst kind of underdog to play because they think they're better than you, even.
Though they're not.
But they're like a relent like they're like they're like a that's like forty and twenty eight with a good punch. Like they're not they're not refined, they're not terribly polished, but they play like they think they're the best team in the league. And I don't know, I can see I could see them absolutely going and beating a Detroit I really could. I think they First of all, they just as you said, their skill players are really good.
They're really good. And today they gave Baker time to throw and you know, a couple of times the Baker went out and moved. You know, we always knew in that class that Darnold was a little bit better athlete than Baker. But Baker remember years ago in Cleveland when he screwed his shoulder up and I felt for like a year and a half he wasn't right. It just it felt like he was just always playing hurt. He's healthy now and he's you know, he's he's worked hard
at it. He's pretty athletic. He can get up and move well.
He's you know, you thought Jared Goff today, when you hit Jared Goff, he's much more like Cousins. He's not going to run around. I know he had a running first down, but he you hit him, it can throw him off. Baker much more like a lot of these athletic guys in the league. He's some hybrid version of a pocket quarterback, but he definitely has lost weight and he can move. I assumed, like I like the Chargers today.
I thought the Chargers would win at home against the Bucks and and the Atlanta plays the Raiders tomorrow, so all of a sudden they'd be tied and Atlantas beat him twice, I'm like, you know, listen, the Bucks are having a commendable season. They are in the driver's seat right now, Colin, because they end with the Panthers and the Saints. Now the Cowboys are playing pretty well, that's a Sunday Night game next week. But I like, I'm
gonna like the Bucks in that spot. They easily could win out and then Atlanta doesn't control their own destiny. If I would have told you at the beginning of the season that Atlanta, after all the hoopla ive given a hundred million dollars of basically laughing Belichick out and going with Rahem Morris missed the playoffs, I mean because
that's there. They're only getting one team in. And the Bucks be a huge muscle flex for Baker, for Jason Light, for because when you talk about the chippiness, like I worked with Todd in Philip, if Todd doesn't say anything, it starts with Baker. Baker gives them that mentality, and honestly, Jason Light has a little bit of that too. He likes those type players. And they didn't have Winfield today. So I think the Bucks, I'm with you that they would be a date because they get a home game.
The thing, you win the division, even if you host the Lions or Minnesota. If you're the four to five, we've seen them before in that spot, win that game, right, host that game and win it.
So right now Chiefs the number one seed, Bill second, Steelers, third, Texans four, Broncos for Ravens four. They're all tied, and then the Chargers seventh. So because the Dolphins lost, it's still a two game lead for the Chargers over the final playoff spot and the Dodgers and the Chargers. So in the NFC as of right now.
The Dolls, I think the Dolphins stink. I mean the Dolphins, ye, dink and dunk to a.
It's the Eagles and Lions tied for the number one one seed, Vikings three, Packers four they're playing tonight, Commanders five, Seahawks six, Buccaneers seven, Rams are right up against it. So you know the Rams Buccaneers. I think the Rams right now are better than the Buccaneers, but I don't think it's by a lot. I think it's all take
McVeigh and Stafford over Bulls and Baker. But that run game, Kyra and Williams in that run game, you'd have to win it through the air because you're not running against Tampa. If I said, right now, Rams, Tampa, who would you take.
I'd probably take the Rams. Yeah, I would give a flight edge, I mean the coaching edge to McVeigh. I would listen Bakers having a great year, but I'm taking Stafford. Now, you know, that's that game we'll see, because I think there's a pretty good chance that the Rams in Seattle both get into the playoff. Whoever doesn't win the division is the seventh seed, and that's a tough seventh seed. I mean we saw last year, right it was Rams Detroit Round one, and the Rams easily could have won
that thing in the wildcard game. I would say the same thing about Seattle depending on their matchup. Like if you told me Seattle was the seven. I think we talked about this, and let's say let's say Minnesota wins that division and the Eagles are the one in Minnesota's the two. Well, we like Seattle in a dome, right, I mean with their skill guys, So I I think this. I think the NFC Playoffs, which early is like, I don't know, I think it's gonna be pretty good. I
think all these underdogs and wildcard teams. The road teams could win all these road games. It's gonna That's why getting that number one seed for Philly. It'd be pretty tough to go on the road to Philly. Right. So they're they're in the driver's seat now with Detroit, who still has tough games for men. They still play Minnesota. It's just hard to win these games when you have injuries. That's the other thing with you know, the Rams feel
like they're getting healthy. I mean that that Rams game to win that game, it doesn't didn't show you though that first half. You know, these are two tough, physical teams pouring rain on the West Coast. They can't function right. You put that game in the am North or Buffalo or Green Bay, those teams is so comfortable. You get the Rams and the Niners that they can't do anything in the first half in just a fifty five degree rainstorm.
I want to touch on this. So there was a story and it came out today. It's almost if San Francisco leaked it that brought purty. He's not going to take a Baker deal. He's not going to take a garn Old deal that he wants in the fifty five million range. So just to give you and the reason I say, did they leak it because he was off a really bad performance where again he struggled because it
rained a little bit. He's got smaller hands. So against the Rams, zero touchdowns, one pick, against Buffalo, eleven completions, ninety four yards Green Bay, he was hurt. Kansas City he was awful, no touchdown, three picks, and the four big games this year he's been bad. And again he has he is. He can struggle with wet weather. He doesn't have big hands. But when I saw the story coming out and people say, well, you know he's beaten
Dak three times, well that that doesn't mean anything. That Dallas made a bad deal with Dak, Cleveland made a bad deal with Deshaun Watson for other reasons. That doesn't mean San Francisco's beholden to follow them. But when I saw that story on brock Purty, might take was why did that story? Why is it coming out now? I could never pay brock pretty fifty five million. You're more comfortable with it, though, I.
Think, uh, fifty five million. That's listen. My deal with brock Purty is this first and foremost, I think we've got to look at the way the Niners negotiate charl Williams, one of the greatest left tackles ever. They just had a staring contest with him til week one. Nick Bose is one of the better players they've had over the last twenty years. He did not have a contract till a couple days before, you know, the season started, so that they do not just hand out money to all
time great talents. Brandon Ayuk who has been a high end winning player for them, and a legit, he's not a top ten wider set, but a really good player. They had a knockdown, drag out Deebo Samuel carried them to the playoffs in twenty twenty one. That was not an easy contract to do. So this guy, listen, His deep ball is a problem right now. Yeah, it's atrocious. And one thing that separated in that second half when the rains stopped. Stafford was good. He was not. Now
he did. Deebo had the one drop, but he was I think I saw stat o of seven on balls down the field passed twenty yards and he's and the pick at the end. If you're going to pay a guy like Brock Purty. Right, his that Josh Allen play today where he scrambled, got hit late and throw it. He could never dream about doing that, so that's never gonna be his game. Well, Drew Brees couldn't dream of doing things Aaron Rodgers did, Steve Young couldn't dream of
doing things John Elway did. So they had to be an elite and this term sounds like a turn off. These got are Hall of famers. Manage the game, never turned the ball over, make the great decisions. I could not have a guy who has limited physical skills that has a bad decision in the big games. The seasons on line right, and that decision to throw it to Juwan Jennyings the game ended. They never got the ball
back and there was multiple checkdown options. And he has some moments in these bigger games where were like, ah,
the decisions and listen. Obviously the leadership and he is a good player, But to me, it's I'm offering the Daniel Jones Baker deal or we're just not doing a deal when we're playing it out, because that's where it's at because once I give the fifty plus million, well then I'm paying you like Joshua Lamar and we already know no one argues, including his representation or his parents even Brock, You're not that guy, so I can't pay
you that. And then look at the Stephen Joneses comments, we're all in on probably makes you happy because you want to trade Micah. We're all in on CD and Dek, so we'll see with Micah right, well, they're all in on deck if they could have that one over, Like was that the right move? And I think when you pay these guys that are somewhere between like seven and fifteen, it's got to be perfect. And when it's not perfect, they josh could carry you no matter what. Mahomes can
be an awesome player when shit's hitting the fan. Lamar could play with me and you out there and make plays. Brock cannut, We know that much. And you just saw against the Rams where it's like all the shit's hitting the fan for both teams. One guy just rises above it. Why because he's an elite talent and he has been for twenty years? Why was the number one pick and the other guy who again I've supported, but I cannot support that that decision that the interception represents what one percent.
He could never do because I got to have you be like, well, he's the smartest player in the league. He makes the best decisions. Wasn't that always a Drew Brees thing. Drew never tried to make passes like Aaron because he knew he couldn't. He didn't try to do that because he had to play within himself. And once I see that, it's like and sometimes perty this goes back to when he was coming out of college. People liked him because remember his junior y, he was really good.
I always stated, I think won ten games. Then his senior year lost a couple guys Breese Hall, and the word was little bit reckless and a gun slinger. Yeah, you can't be a gun slinger when you don't have a gun. Right if you have, you know you got more of a BB gun. That gets back to when people made fun of the Andy Daltons of the world. Their arms not big enough to play like that, so you got to kind of contain yourself. That's the type stuff that has to drive Kyle mad. But they're kind
of stuck, like what else do they do? I looked at the draft order day there you know they're having this atrocious season, think of what like the Jets and the Giants and the Jags would do for their season. They're drafting right now, like fourteenth or fifteenth, you know, depending on how the tiebreakers go. They're not nearly high enough. So it's like, but would they entertain like Drew Aller or something, you know, I don't know. I'm having conversations about everything right now if.
I'm them, Yeah, yeah, I mean it's it's funny because Brock pretty who, by the way, is also getting a little bit of an injury bug, which considering good. Yeah, I mean, Josh Allen's banging into people left and right, and he's not dealing with injuries. So you know, it's I if Brock Curdy was in the last year of his contract, like like like like let's say it ran out, you know, in three or four weeks, I think they'd go get Donald again.
I really do.
I think they'd make a run for Donald because they're familiar with him. He's an athlete, and you could get him for forty nobody's gonna pay Sam sixty. Helly, you franchise tag him. It's like forty forty one.
Yeah, I have a hard time if I'm Brock's representation, and this is where the market got screwed up because guy like Trevor Lawrence, who hadn't done anything, got two hundred million dollars. Even what you want to say about Dak, like he has a ten year resume up until this year of winning a lot of games like he's been
doing it. I think that I think the Trevor Lawrence thing kind of screws the forty nine ers because if I'd just be like, well, look at my numbers, look at my wins compared to this guy, right, even Trevor this year. I mean, it was atrocious before he got injured. But I know the Niners, and I know the way Parrague operates. Listen, it's John and Kyle, but their money guy.
They do not just hand over money. Now, if you want to take team friendly deals, they do a lot of the early or at least they used to when the economics were a little lower, with the Willises and the Bowman's and the frank Rs. Those days get a little harder because these guys drive a hard bargain because the amount of money and the nine are stare at you right in the face, and they don't flinch till the last minute where it's Trent Bosa. Okay, but with
the pretty thing like what's the goin is? Would he hold out? Would he hold out or do a hold in? I doubt it. And I also think you just give him. Here's three years, one hundred million dollars. We'll guarantee every penny, So like thirty million dollars a year, thirty two million dollars. What's he gonna do not sign it? Yeah, I actually think it's a pretty good you know, relative to your skill set. I think it's a complicated thing because of the previous years, but I think this year has to
bode pretty well for them. They've had big spots and he just he has made mistakes. You can go, well, the talent's not there. And I had a buddy in the league say, I think two weeks ago they were missing one hundred and ten million dollars against the Bills, and last week I calculated just between the three guys, Trent, CMC and IUK, it was like almost eighty million. But like that, Welcome to the NFL. A lot of guys get injured.
We got anyways, Lamar Jackson entered the season with a rebuilt offensive line, and Derreck Henry was brand new. You just deal with it. I mean, like like last year, Mark Andrews was hurt all year, Say Flowers was a rookie, you just deal with it. This year, Lamar's got a terrible back end defense, He's got a brand new offensive line. I don't want to hear excuses Josh Allen for years. This is one of the first years he's had a running back and two capable tight ends.
I also think it would be on the table if you're Brock and they're just offering you something that you think Daniel Jones' contract will like, we're not budget, so it's either this or nothing. What if you just went Flaco? Because I say this about the Niners, like they're having an atrocious season with a million injuries and they're still gonna end up with seven or eight wins if they're a little healthier next year. They draft pretty well. They
know the type guys they're looking for. What if you go next year, we'll win eleven or twelve and then all of a sudden we're in the second or third round the playoffs, and then I have more bargaining power. I think that would be on the table as well. He is, you know whenever I'm home. Maybe their national commercials too. He's making a lot of money off the field being the quarterback for the Niners. So what you've always said about Dak like you can take a little less.
You know how much money you make as the cowboy quarterback. It's like what Mahomes did. His contract's kind of fake. He did the Chiefs so solid, like because Patrick knw we'll keep winning and I am going to print money a little Brady style. Why is Brady so valuable because he has like seven championships. If Brady had won, it wouldn't be the same. Why is Mahomes gonna be talked about like he's Michael Jordan for the next fifty years because he's gonna have four or five championships when it's
all said and done, right. So I do think Brock is pretty small. I could also see the agent though I mean this, I don't know who his representation is, but I would imagine it's not exactly Tom Condon coming out of the draft as the last pick in the draft, probably getting ready to cash in, and he's he's gonna deal with a pretty tough negotiator here in the forty nine ers. I'll promise you that.
So I have said, I think Bill Belichick's gonna last one year in college and very interesting his contract. And you know the lawyers went after this big time. There's no way Carolina wanted to give this up. Bill can leave July first of next year. I mean he could leave before he coaches a game, a single game. Now he's not going to because nobody hires. So he can leave before he coaches a game. Nobody hires at that point. So that's not the point. The point is one and
done is very possible. I think he's going to jettison college football. I think he's going to be aggravated this This staff he's building is a pro staff. They're going to rub people the wrong way in the building. It's going to be Charlie Weiss times ten, where Charlie just wore people out. Charlitie was a good enough coach, not a great recruiter, wore people out in the building. I don't think this Belichick group fits college. I think their
personalities are kurt outspoken by pro standards. John it is rough, it's hard, it doesn't work in many pro in it's not going to work. In college, there was a story Diana Russini reported that he showed interest in the Jets, and I'm thinking, if Bill showed interest in the Jets, he hates what he Johnson that this to me if you look at his drafts. Like urban Meyer who told me years ago, I don't watch Sunday football. I'm preparing for the next week. Bill doesn't watch Saturday football, watch
their drafts. He's and the minute he takes over the drafts, he doesn't know what he's doing. He's NFL guys don't watch a lot of Saturday. College guys don't watch Sunday. I don't know. And I saw that Jet story. What did you make of it?
Well, my first reaction was I don't believe it. Because Bill it's been his arch nemesis. The hatred was palpable for the last twenty five years. He despised the Jets. Then he finally gets a microphone in front of him for the last six months, and he you know, he'd pick his spots when to be critical and name people.
He never hesitated with Woody Johnson. The moment they hired Robert Saw, he put all his chips in the middle of the table, I would say, was as critical of him as anyone in the quote unquote media, especially like NFL type person. And he didn't talk like that about other people. So my reaction was, listen, I know, Mike Tannebaum and everyone reported that, you know, Woody didn't tell people this. Mike who's running the search, told people. And
they've known each other since Cleveland. I I have a hard time seeing Bill beg the Jets, And that would be an easy one if you're Woody Johnson. You know, everyone keeps talking about people or Bill flipping the middle finger in the NFL flipping the middle finger to him, a bunch of fus going back and forth. This would be an easy one for Woody, Like, let's put out there that Bill was begging me for a job, because what's Bill gonna do leak something when he's in North Carolina.
It's kind of like he's just off doing something else. Now, if it is true, which I mean very credible, people are reporting this pretty embarrassing for Bill, that he's begging the Jets for interest, I mean, and maybe he knows and that's obviously the contract. I remember Simmons used to write about like when celebrities would date and one celebrity would be way more famous than the other celebrity, it would be hard to maintain that relationship, but it would
usually end badly. When they're both Demi Moore and Bruce Willis right, two famous people, they could work well. This is Belichick's fame and his football aura is in a different planet than UNC football, so he could take advantage of them in a negotiation that never happens at that level. No one would sign a five year contract new football coach and put that in. But also if he's if it is true began Woody Johnson for the Jets job, is he gonna have that many more options in a year? Like?
What would he have to do if his stock is low right now? Would he have to go ten and two in year one? Like? Could he just go six and six and people would think highly of them? I don't know. I mean, I actually kind of believe he just might be stuck there and he's just all in because the one thing people well, I remember being I think in college and reading the Halbertstam book, and he's he can get sentimental only about his father. I think the dad thing means something to him and his dad
having coaching there. He brought out that sweatshirt that he had from UNC when he was there. So I just don't think they're gonna be potential options. And I just think he might just be stuck there. But you're right, I mean, that's that was a pretty glaring like that's not getting put in any of these contracts.
I mean, the fact that he can leave before he coaches the game is wild.
I mean, but don't you take the ten million dollar buyout even to start is relatively low. They can't fire these guys five years in that their buyouts are fifty million.
Yeah, it just I think, I mean, Urban Meyer just didn't fit pro football. I don't think Bill's personality. I don't think it fits college. He was introduced at a basketball game and it just looked so odd. It was like, oh, this does And by the way, I've called multiple people that you know, no Bill, and they just can't. They just can't wrap their brain around it. So I'm I can root for something I can simultaneously hope he does well. I want to watch the games, but think it could
be a mess. It won't be It's not like they'll win four games the ACC is bad, their schedules embarrassing.
They get.
The toughest game they play is Clemson. I mean they get it's a bunch of wake Forest. I mean those are the tough ones. Syracuse it is Duke it's bad. And North Carolinas always had pretty good players.
But I don't know.
I just when I saw the Jet story, I thought, wow, I want to touch on this. So Ashton Genty finished the second to Travis Hunter in the Heisman. Now that's what I would have voted. I think when you have a historically unique player like Travis Hunter who played against much better competition. And my take on college football in the NFL, it doesn't really matter who you play. If you win, you're division, you're in. If you qualify for
the playoffs, you're in. It does matter in college That's why there's four Big Ten teams in the playoffs, three SEC teams in the playoff, and two ACC teams in the playoff because the ACC is weaker. So it does matter who you play in college. And Ashton Genty had two hundred and seventy yards and six t d's against Georgia Southern. Now he was good against Utah State one hundred eighty six yards. He was very good against San Jose State and Wyoming and Hawaii and UNLV. Hell, he
got three touchdowns against Oregon. I'm not denying any of that. He who had two hundred and nine yards against Nevada, But it is it is hard for me with about eighty percent, because I consider Oregon and UNLV a couple of times pretty solid teams. But it is hard for me in college. Hell, you could probably go every third year and find somebody at Holy Cross, you know who dialed up big numbers. I do think your schedule matters. I've said this about college football. If your road games,
what is your road attendance? If the average road attendance you face is like thirty three thousand, it's different than playing in Camp Randall and the Shoe and Michigan and Otson. So I wasn't bothered by it. Travis Hunter played against better players. Did it bother you that this kid that's going to go in the first round finished second?
No? I mean I would have voted listen. I got my start out of college in the Whack, which at the time was Boise State. Now that turned into the Mountain West. It is not the same and at President State, Pat Hill always would hang his hat on. Our three non conference games were against power five, big time opponents. It's a different world than playing New Mexico and San Diego State, and listen he is. I would say he is a universal favorite of amongst the NFL scouted community.
Genty honestly is only not because he's like five eighth. If he was six feet tall or five to eleven, I think he'd be a lock top ten pick. I do think he's gonna be a fascinating draft prospect because his tape is like I mean, it's about as unique and dominant as you'll see. But he's small. I mean, you see a five eight running back going in the top fifteen. That's hard. But I think he'll end up
going in the first round. I think Travis Hunter. I bet there are a lot of players, let's just pick the last twenty years, either wide receivers or corners, that if they had played the opposite position. You know, if they're a wide receiver and they had played corner or corner and played wide receiver, that they could have been elite and been a first round pick, and they were first round pick at the position they played. But we have never seen a guy literally play them both since
like the leather helmet days and be universally accepted. He's the number one corner. He might not be the number one wide receiver, but he's a lock if he was only a wide receiver to go in the top ten or twelve. I mean it's in every single game, and you're watching as the season went on that this can't,
he can't, and then he just would. And it's just one hundred and ten snaps, one hundred and five snaps, one hundred and twelve snaps and in the big twelve playing corner, which to me is harder than wide receiver to be good at because to be that's a passing conference. So he's run around to be able to play wide receiver, and he dominated at I also thought one he sounded like just a great guy and he feels like an easy person to root for. What if you're Colorado and
you pulled the trigger on hiring Deon Sanders. I know year one was a disaster, but in terms of the popularity it brought you, it was a win. To be year two have your first Heisman since the running back in ninety four, to go nine and three to have this guy and Shadoor, which are gonna be top five picks.
I just don't think it gets any better. I mean, it's an all time turnaround at a program that ninety percent of the coaches that would have gone there would I mean, best case this year would have been like six and six and there would be no top ten picks. The guy won a Heisman and you hear the way. And part of this is why Dion, It's also why I think Bill will be fine in recruiting, is because I think what really, you know, Deon's Dion acts like Dion since I was a kid he was playing. He
just acts the same. Now he's just a coach like Bill, just be yourself, you know. I think that's why Brian Kelly takes some shit. He kind of acts like he kind of faking. It's like being a politician like Saban just felt like Saban, right, Kirby just feels like they just they're very comfortable in their own skin. Even Chip. You know, Chip's kind of honoree. He's not gonna kiss your right. But that's how he's been for fifteen twenty years.
And I think Dion, it's remarkable what they accomplished. It really is now. I checked recruiting rankings before. They're not very high for this next year. But Dion's not big on the high school kids, that's big on the portal, so it's hard to totally judge him that way. But I thought it was a really cool moment for just
when are we ever gonna see this again? Coln He starts at two positions corner non quarterbacks, one of the harder positions to play, and he's that's where everyone in the NFL is begging him to play.
Please play corner, right, Yeah, I think he'll be a better corner than an offensive player in the NFL. He's a hundred and eighty five eighty eight pounds, he'll probably be a corner because timing is such an essential part of the better quarterbacks in the NFL. It's hard for me to see an elite quarterback saying, yeah, okay, kid, you'll just be here for half the practice. I don't that's just not the Brady's, the Rogers, the Staffords. Like golfs, they want you in on every snap, like the idea
that you're going to be on the other side. But I do think if he goes to a really bad team. My guess is the Giants have the number one.
He's going to a bad team because it's going to be he might be the first overall pick.
Call well, I think yeah, I mean the Giants. I would say it would take Shador Sanders. Vegas could take cam Ward, maybe Travis Hunter, you know, maybe again. I could see Vegas going for Sam Darnold and saying we'll take Travis Hunter number two. I could absolutely see that because not te LESCo and cam Ward's interesting, Like, I don't know if that's the personality fit he wants because
cam is edgy and Tom's not into that. But so my take though, he's probably again for a bad team, play both ways, but I might I think he'll end up settling as a corner. Am I wrong?
Well that's what everyone's pushing him to play. But when you look at the contracts, it pays to be a wide receiver. Column that's what That's what I wonder about.
I mean, Brandon, I you caught seventy five balls and he got seventy five million and thirty a year, So it's it's uh, and if you're good now, I don't know if he's justin Jefferson or Jamar Chase, but those guys get Nick Bosa money, so financially now, I do think we're going to see You know, everyone thought that Sas Gardner was the greatest thing since Darrell Reeves and
Richard Sherman. Well, actually the better player is Derek Stingley, and he's going to be up for a new contract, and I think, you know, and even Sauce, if they get a new coach and he gets back to playing good football, you're talking eighty nine. I think their numbers will get much higher. With some of these younger Patrick's retain higher numbers at corner that will continue to rise. But the NFL wants them to play that because it's
much easier to find a wide receiver. I can find a guy in the third or fourth round who can catch me eighty balls. It's Sauce, Gardner and Derek Stingley. We're top five picks, you know, to get the high end guy like Richard Sherman's an all time outlier, a Hall of Fame level player that you find in the fifth round like that doesn't happen very often a corner. Most guys are drafted high at that position, but like,
what if he wants to play both ways? But my theory on that is, I do think physically it's very hard to play corner against every team as good a receivers now, so we said it was hard in college to go to the NFL to do it. It'd be hard to you know, maintain your health doing both, I think at the NFL level. And two, if you're a team, if you're my starting corner, one of my starting wide receivers, if you get injured, I lose two spots. Right, So it's kind of a weird spot to be in, right.
It's why I thought one day, well, if you could pay him, could he just shatter records and get this unique contract because he's like show. Well, let's say in five years he's actually does both and I give him one hundred and fifty million dollars. Well, then he breaks his leg. I just lost my best wide receiver in my best corner. If Stingley gets hurt, I don't also lose Nico Collins, right, So it becomes a little there's listen, Dion was an awesome player to watch as a kid.
They let Dion play some wide receiver to just make him happy. But he wasn't just running out every play with Michael Irvin or Jerry Rice right this dominated corner, which I think everyone's going to push him to be. But you know, agents and money people go, well, look at these wide receivers, how much money they're making. So I wonder if it's going to be a little you know, tug of war on the business side. Also the Shador thing. Could you Chadoor in the in prime and the Marra family?
Sign me up for that because you talk about it, talk about a team that needs some life. You talk about a lifeless franchise right now.
I text Ian O'Connor, very respected New York columnist today, and I said, are they going to keep Brian day bullies? He's safe and his tech to me, without getting into everything, he said was they would like to. But you've got planes flying overhead. They're getting blown out. I mean the Jets, to their credit, they're playing their ass off today. I
mean Aaron the last time weeks they are. But let me just give Aaron some credit here, because I know everybody thinks I pick on just to give Aaron some credit. Let's see here we go, Aaron Rodgers. If you go look at his last Aaron in his last seven games has thirteen touchdowns of pick and one hundred passer rating. So the DeVante thing, if you watch today, they've got a real relationship. Now it takes time. So Aaron and
Davante are cooking. I like their personnel. It's you know, I said last week on FS one, I kind of thought the Giants had a brighter future. But it looks like to me, the New York Giants have quit on Brian Dable.
I would agree. I thought that game was unworld I mean, the the Raven watch, it was a practice, it was a joke. Say this about the Jets that they threw up a stat you know down the stretch of the game. I think they were. They were. They've lost five games with fourth quarter leads, and coming in today they were zero to seven in games decided by less than a touchdown, So they have been in a lot of these games.
Oh yeah, I think I think people could make the argument is listen, they were never going to take out the Bills to win the East, but this season could easily be closer to five hundred if a couple of things go right for him now today, because part of it right, remember their schedule started hard and it got easier at the end, and they they.
Won and had four hundred yards of offense.
Yeah, no, Aaron was good today. Like if they got that Aaron. Now again, they're playing the Jags, who have an awful defense from just a bad team. But if he played like that, they would be okay. And like you said, DeVante, even Lazard, they had to play that. He dropped a ball, Aaron was putting it. One thing I had been critical on Aaron's like, God, is he lost his his Just it'sure accuracy that made him such a special player. Today he was hitting guys in the
hands constantly and he wasn't missing the layup place. And yeah, I mean I it'll be fascinating to see what happens there. They got a lot of cooks in the kitchen. You tannebomb running this search. You know, I think John Mora, I think he's just hesitant to just keep firing people over and over. But like, what are you supposed to do? Like this ain't working out?
Yeah, Macado and Shermer and Sludge or not Sol excuse me, Jojo Machado, Judge Shermer, Solis Jets. Yeah, Aaron went sixteen to thirty two hundred and ninety yards three touchdowns. He also ran six times and average seven and a half yards a run. So whereas Kirk Cousins off of surgery and forty has I mean, it's gone off the cliff Aaron's actually, I think last week in a losing cause. Last two weeks I've watched there and I thought he's been really good.
I would agree. I mean, he's been way better than he was early in the season, which is kind of I would get. I guess if you're a Jets fan or just someone that like he might be on the team somewhat optimistic, you would think it would go the other way. Older player forty forty one years old would fall for Cliff as the season went on. He's actually still has a lot of energy. Kind of hit me today watching those two teams, because at one point time it looked like the Jets were gonna lose. I mean,
Devanta had like two hundred yards today. Is is it kind of crazy that the NFL is hitting all time popularity with the Jets and the Giants really for the last decade plus being just atrocious football teams.
I've said this recently. The most successful teams in this league are Kansas City, Green Bay, Baltimore, Buffalo. Those are your franchises. The New York teams are a mess. Chicago's a mess. Until this year, DC fifth, sixth biggest city in the country, was a mess. A high profile team like Pittsburgh, not a Super Bowl contender like you start looking around, Dallas, the biggest brand in the league. Really regressing quickly. It is remarkable. In the NBA, you've got
you know, New York's viable. I mean, the Warriors are still viable. The Lakers won in the bubble several years ago. I mean, Dallas is good. That's a big market team. Philadelphia is good, Austin's good. Those are big market cities. Houston another big market interesting. Hawks playing well in Atlanta and their ratings are no circling the drain. The NFL's biggest markets are a mess, and on a lot of instances they're unwatchable. And it just shows the power of
the NFL. I think there's a lot of reasons the NFL is king. It's relatable, we watch it, we bet it. It's built for television. There's one game a week. As society gets wider and more distracting. It's one game a week. I think that's a huge part of it. But college football ratings are up, and women's basketball ratings are up, and March Madness was up. The NBA continues to just not I think the load management, I think the aesthetics. Everybody's shooting for threes, and I think they have their
best players in the wrong markets. But I don't know if a league is bulletproof. But I mean, I sit around and I can't wait for Sundays. I mean, the early window today was pretty awful. It was it was it was the worst early window of the season. But I couldn't wait for the afternoon. And I think that's the power of the sport. It just it just makes me think about it before the day starts.
I also think this the explosion of college football, the NIL, the transfer portal, now the playoffs. You're just watching the incoming talent, so you just get to basically fans get to scout. It's pretty clear all the best teams have the best players. That's why I actually think Belichick is gonna be I mean, how many big time games I would imagine over the next couple of weeks they got money to spend gonna land some transfer portal guys. I just saw they kept the best recruit they had in
the class was a quarterback. They kept them like if they are interesting next year. That just bleeds into the NFL because it's all kind of layered now. I feel like it starts on Saturday. I don't know about you. It was nice actually to take a deep breath. It's been a long season. But I did also miss, like you know it, with a lot of respect for the Army Navy guys. I love the over in that game. What those two team's been scoring a lot of points. But I missed just the SEC game or Ohio State
or Michigan. There just wasn't anything. It was weird. It was a weird feeling yesterday without it.
You know, it really was John Middlecoff, former NFL scout three and out. We do our hour to hour fifteen. We do it every Sunday. I'm gonna go. When I watch the Packers, I'm crossing my fingers. I have them minus two and a half. I do not remember having an zero for four early day. And not only did I go oh for four, all of my teams got run. I mean I was on the Rock. I almost picked Denver to win and cover. I got talked out of it. Shame on me, but I've had better weeks.
I dare you to pick the Raiders tomorrow on television. I kind of like them. They're bound to take someone out down the stretch, a weird game and falcons. I'm right I'd be taken out.
I thought that about Cleveland today and boy was I wrong.
Yeah. See Car the Volume