The volume. All right, there we go Kansas City twenty five, twenty two. It hits the under by half a point. John Middlecoff, former NFL scout three and out, who knows the Niners very very well. You know, I already thought San Francisco outplayed Kansas City for most of the game. But then when you get to overtime, boy, there's some big advantages Mahomes, Kelsey, game experience, the kicker, Andy Reid.
Let me start John by this. I thought both coaches, you know, players look nervous, Kansas City's young overcoming Mahomes, overcoming a lot of Kansas City mistakes. I thought the play calling and the play design was pretty spectacular. I mean, it's just my interpretation. I thought Shanahan Andy's last drive was classic Candy. I thought, Shanahan, you're a Niners guy. I thought he had a good day. I think there's
some limitations to Pretty. Obviously, Spags felt every time he had to make a stop, you put pressure on him. It's almost the opposite of what you do with Mahomes, where you never blitz with Pretty. There's a pretty clear way to defend him in big situations, go right at him. He's small doesn't have a huge arm. But your takeaway on Shanahan's afternoon because he'll get pinned with a loss. Your thoughts, Yeah, I mean, I thought he had a rough stretch in a third quarter where he got a
little pass happy they had the lead. I think the game early on, the Niners were out playing them, right, Their defense had to look like that in months month, and they were coming and instead of being up like when they were rolling during the season, seventeen to three or something, they're up a touchdown, they're up ten to three, and it's just you're you can't keep this guy in the game.
And it obviously played out that way as it went. Spagnola and that defense is fantastic. But yeah, I thought, you know, the big question mark for me coming into the game was the forty nine Ers defense is specifically their defensive line, and they were awesome today. Yes, I would.
Imagine Bolsha could have been MVP at halftime.
He was incredible. He was Everyone was so tired by the end, right, and I would imagine by the time everyone wakes up in the morning. One area of controversy I know in Ninerland is going to be his decision in overtime. Now with these new rules, whether to take it, he wins the toss and he elects to take the ball. Now, during the season, the forty nine ers, whenever they win the toss, they defer. I actually was okay with it because if you kick it off and they go down
and score, that is so much pressure on party. And I thought Perty on that first overtime drive was incredible, the play he made to Christian McCaffrey. The other play he made to use check. But what happened a couple big time third downs in the red zone spag Nolan in that defense, specifically Chris Jones. I mean, he was unblockable at points, and you know, Perty, they just got to him and he basically had to throw it away.
And then that last drive by Andy, I mean, I I think when you look at this game, it is a legacy definer by Jordan Pippin and Phil Jackson, ak Andy Reid, Kelsey and Mahomes. Now that's a devastating loss. I mean, how many times you know it's not like the forty nine ers showing up to the Super Bowls and getting their ass kicked. I mean, they're losing it devastating fashion now, I guess you tip your hat because you're losing to Mahomes and Andy. But man, that is
a that's a gut check. Yeah, that's tough to shake, right now, Colin. Yeah.
And here, let's let's face I.
Lost a lot of money on the Niners. I'm not gonna lie.
Let's let's face it. Eli Manning beat Brady twice in these games, and Eli made the throw Mario Manningham and David Tyree. Perdy missed a touchdown in this game, Chris Jones remember that. I don't know where I had it written down. I think it was third or fourth quarter, but Perty had a big miss.
Chris Jones right kind of in his face coming over and he kind of had to Yeah.
And so I think there was a couple of moments in this game where you know, you didn't blitz Brady, you didn't blitz Mahomes, the great ones. You don't even screw around with that. The way to stop Purty is blitz. And that that tells you what people think of him, which is he's a little small. You could see a couple of times you get pressure on him. He's pretty average.
Arm I thought he was pretty good today. Colin I did. Overall, I thought, I thought he had a good game. I mean I I was much more nervous for his performance, thought it was gonna be rocky. I thought, for the most party he was. He played a winning football game. There were some plays at the end where you know, he just gets hit, Like you said, I mean, he's not gonna break Chris Jones' tackle. But I thought for the most part he was pretty damn good. He's not
Mahomes And that's been the whole argument. He's not. I mean, it's are we watching, I mean the conversation. Now, this guy's got his third Super Bowl and I mean, what a remarkable final drive.
Yeah, I think, you know, as a as I go back and forth on this, I thought when it was zero zero after the first quarter, I thought, boy, this is not good for San Francisco. They have thrown Kansas City around the field. My second takeaway I was Bosa should be the MVP. My third takeaway in the game is, you know, Shanahan is just he's getting the ball to Christian McCaffrey. They couldn't get it to Kittle, but he
was getting it too. Christian McCaffrey a lot and then I felt like the fourth thing that I wrote down, I thought Kansas City in the third quarter, I felt like they gained some momentum. I thought San Francisco got a little pass happy. I thought they started Pacheco started to get some runs. I mean, overall, when these games come down, you know, Manning beat Brady because he made two huge throws. These games are these iconic games like this, they come down to a play. I thought the officials
pretty much stayed out of it. I thought, by the way, I thought Moody was remarkable. I thought, you know, I went into the game and my take was pretty and Moody against maybe the best kicker and the best quarterback. That's a huge disadvantage. But Moody's hitting fifty three yard field goal. And I thought one of the things I thought brock Purtty did very well, and I wrote this down. I thought in the first half, I figured he you'd come back down to earth, but I thought he could
be nervous. I thought in the first half he played with a ton of composure. I mean, I remember Brady super Bowls where he's sailing things and Peyton Manning super Bowls. I was kind of shocked at the composure. Now, some of it was play calling. They set him up to succeed on some stuff. But nonetheless, it's one thing to lose to Mahomes last time. But I felt in the fourth quarter Kansas City was the better team. There was never really a point in this game. I felt Kansas
City was superior. When that game came down to fourth and two and Mahomes scrambled, I was thinking, if they don't get it, that's a fitting end. San Francisco just felt that what may this hurt is? I think San Francisco had a great game plan, pretty played well. Moody was sensational, the defense dominated line of scrimmage. This one felt like you out played them and lost.
They did all season long. When the Chiefs have won and including the playoffs, they've played it on their terms in a lower scoring game, and when the Niners have won throughout the season, when they kicked the Eagles ass, when they kicked the Cowboys ass, and last week when they came storming back on the Lions. They score a lot of points, right so, and this score was a little higher because of overtime, but it was in the teams the entire second half, right That's how Kansas City
is very comfortable. I went to cocktails on Thursday night with a buddy who's been on the staff for the whole run of this Chiefs team, and he said, because of it, because of Mahomes, no one gives our defense the credit they deserve. This is by far the best group we've had, Yes, and it's all young players and their physicality and their secondary physicality. How well they tackled. What are the forty nine ers hang their hat on
over this run of Shanahan breaking tackles. They take slants, they take crossing routes, They turn a seven yard game into twenty eight. They turn a twenty yard game into sixty yards. That never happened tonight because they tackle so well that physicality for the first time. And this is not going to change next year because all these guys are coming back. The Chiefs now have one of the all time greatest players in the history of the game, a coach who now has no pressure with three Super
Bowls and a defense lighten people up. So their defense and the forty nine ers were playing that way too, but the Chiefs can match that. They would not have been able. They couldn't play like this a couple of years ago, and now they not only can play like this, they're comfortable playing like this. So the Niners, and this is where I think they benefit from those close calls. They were comfortable in a weird game. They never you know, they like you said, Perty kept his composure, Kyle kept
his composure. Kyle stayed late on an aggressive fourth down call late in the game, and I think he knows he learned last time. You can't be that way against Andy Reid. But you know that the Chiefs. Physicality in both these two teams, I think it's credit to we talk so much about teams not practicing through the season. You know, the Eagles got crushed for doing walkthroughs in December. To have that type stamina. Both these two teams playing like an extra you know, a full extra quarter, going
full go in the Super Bowl. I think that's a testament to the way these teams practice. It shows by the way they play physicality. Listen, I know everyone's a sucker for touchdowns. I enjoy physical football. I enjoy an old school game. I was glued. Now, granted I was on the Niner side a lot of money, but that was that was a fantastic football game. I could live with the punts and the defense. I enjoy that.
Yeah, I thought the second half in overtime were that's as good as football against in America. You were getting a crucial quarterback play, clever play calling, you know, big third and fourth down plays, you know. And one of the things I had said, you know Kansas City, I mean, you go back to Week eight as like they're a playoff team only because the Chargers in Denver aren't any good, and then my week twelve, you're like kind of figuring it out. The last four games they played are the
best four games they've played all year. And I mean, seriously, it's like that's kind of the magic potion with them, is that there's no reason. I mean, if you really think about it, they have kind of a weak number one receiver, they're not as good at tackle as they'd like to be. Outside of Chris Jones. It's kids, but boy do they draft, Boy do they coach, Boy do they develop? I mean, if you really look at this game, you know what I felt like for the first half,
the experienced guys were beating the kids. I thought Kansas City looked a little nervous. The fumbles. You know, they just and it was like, oh boy, I mean Fred Warner, oh Bosa, Jesus Christian McCaffrey. It kind of felt like the grown ups, like one of those NBA playoff games where you're like, oh, okay, here here come the old guys, the old Warriors against the young Celtics. Here come the old guys. But again, you know, Spags has done this
John all year. You can't score, You can't score on this team.
Late. Wasn't that a big difference in the game down the stretch? There was on that final drive Kyle had to call a time out because he didn't like the defense that was being called because a couple plays before they had all out blitz. They don't get there and they hit a huge play to Rice. You think Andy Reid is calling a timeout on anything Spags has to do. In fairness, I don't even disagree with Kyle doing it, but the difference of the cohesion of the coaching staff.
Both of them are the offensive play callers, both of them are spending time with the offense. Yet one kind of had to micro manage a little bit and the other guy has full belief because Spags is gonna win more Super Bowls as a coordinator than anyone not named George Seaffert, and you should have belief in them. And his play calls are just perfect. How well that defense played. But like you said, this isn't some indictment against Kyle sucks.
You know. I remember when I worked for the Eagles, Andy was kind of at that moment where he was like the back when Phil could never win a major or Charles Barkley, and you were one of the rare guys that defended him of being like, what are we talking about? Like, this guy's clearly one of the best coaches. It took him a long time, but it was pretty evident pretty early. Kyle's gonna just you get criticized when you lose these big games. It's kind of the elephant
in the room now hanging over him moving forward. Can you win this big game? I listen, I who else would you rather have beside a couple guys in the league over that guy?
No, I thought. I wrote it down two of my notes. I thought Kyle had a great He had a little bit of a spell, like you said in the third quarter, But I mean, let's give.
I think he was taught if I was going to defend him. They were starting to play Christian a little well, and then you were getting into second and nine immediately. So it's one thing when you pop the big runs and listen, I'm a proponent of run the ball, but if it's not working, then all of a sudden you put your second year quarterback and second and nine. Their guys were jumping off sides. It was like second and twelve or third and twelve, and I think he was
trying to avoid that and get some easy completions. But back to what we said about the Chiefs defense, it's hard to get completions on them, and when you do, they tackle so well. So even if you get a three yard little out route, they tackle you on the spot.
It'll be interesting going forward with San Francisco. Kittle got banged up. Deebo again. McCaffrey is he's I'm telling you, Walter Payton, Barry Sanders. McCaffrey, I think it's the third best running back I've ever seen. How How fast was he on the sideline on that on that play, I think it was an overtime to set up the field goal.
Kind of juked him out, got to the corner, I.
Mean he's he just ran past a corner, flew past him. It's interesting though, because you know they hit on Ayuk. They've got the kicker a quarterback part. He's going to be aroundial. They Trent Williams, you you are a little long. You also can't pay two linebackers big money. They've got some decisions to make. Like I think we all know Kansas is going to be backing better than next year. They just have to find a number two receiver. They're going to be fine. When you look at San Francisco,
do you you know they're not paying pretty anything. Will they have to move off anybody? What do you think?
Who?
What do they draft? Where do they have to get a corner?
I think Kittle's you know, getting up there in age now makes a lot of money. You start investing in Brandon Aiyuk. It's one of those things. You know, Kittle doesn't impact the game like Kelsey now in the passing game consistently. He's important to the run game. But once you start taking fifteen sixteen, seventeen million dollar cap hit Kyle for being an offensive guy wired like Andy Reid. They like investing in the line of scrimmage. Their offensive
line needs to improve. They could always He'll keep investing in the defensive line. Eric Armstead's another guy that makes a lot of money who's up there, but he's team captain. You know, these are complicated decisions, and this is where if you want to sustain success, whether you're winning Super Bowls like the Chiefs did when they traded Tyre Kill or like San Francisco, now is proven that you've got to make tough decisions. And no one was better at
it than for twenty years than Belichick. Right, and the media always used to crush them. How can you trade this guy? So we don't have unlimited money in a salary cap league, So you got to make some tough decisions. And the forty nine ers are definitely gonna have. I mean Drake Greenlaw Torre's achilles running out to the field. Now he's a guy under contract, doesn't make that much money,
but he's pretty important for them. And one thing that I think both teams showed and this John Lynch is really good Kyle because Kyle's plays a big role in veach obviously is a stud they have. Both teams have good depth that they're they're very, very good at developing players over the course of the season. I mean, how good was Juwan Jennings today is seventh This is a seventh round player and he's been making big plays for
them for three years. So being around the Niners at practice and knowing coach read a lot of similarities that young players get better and one thing they really have on their side, which if you're going to get a legit starting quarterback making under a million dollars, I'm sorry, that's the best contract in the NFL. So you still got a couple of years to work with that, and I think as long as you have that in your back pocket that that's a pitch most teams don't have.
I mean, think about the other teams in the NFC. The AFC is harder, even though the Chiefs have proven like they're on phase. By Dallas at a lot of question marks with the Cowboys, right Mike McCarthy last year coaching Eagles have a ton of question marks. Hiring two coaches that have never worked with sirianni If they start slow, Kellen, a lot of weird stuff going on. Lions are pretty good, but I mean, let's that's the first big game. Dan Campbell's ever won, so they got a long way ago
to they can keep doing this. The Rams are coming, but Stafford's getting long in the tooth, Aaron Donald's getting old. The NFC, to me is dramatically easier, right, I mean, the Ravens are gonna be good, Burrow's coming back, Harbaugh. Now with the Chargers, it's just you. You would imagine
Miami gets better on defense. But I think the road to the playoffs and in before the Super Bowl for San Francisco is dramatically easier than it would be in the AFC based on the quarterbacks you have to go through, so that that's another thing that benefits them. And I mean, who's the beside McVeigh and Kyle, Like, what are we talking about? Right in the Sirianni? I like Dan Campbell, but no one, no gentleman jo League taking Dan Campbell over Kyle Shanahan.
Yeah, I mean if to me, I think the Packers, I would pick the Packers to win the division over Detroit just because I think Jordan Love had huge growth. That team is stacked with young players.
They're a team too, I forgot about them there.
Yeah, coming Rams. I think if they have another good draft. They just McVeigh and Shanahan. You know, those are wars. Those are cerebral wars, academic physical wars. You know, I want to go back to so much of when the Patriots were dominating. You know this, it was Ernie Adams, Dante Scarnekia Belichick, Brady and then Josh Layers, Gronk and maybe e Vince Wilfork. You know, they had kind of
interchangeable corners. You know, they moved around pass rushers. But when you start stacking up Brett Veach, Andy re Mahomes, Kelsey and Chris Jones, and that shit is I mean, there's those are a pluses. Chris Jones. His intensity on the sideline when mvs ran backwards. Yeah, I mean that guy is so locked into everything. And there's only two or three defensive linemen in my life, like like Reggie White,
Aaron Donald. I don't think Chris is that level, but it does feel like to me, John, in these big games, Chris is virtually unblockable. I mean, today I'm watching that game and I'm like, this is Aaron Donald against the Bengals. You have to double them, you can't single them.
I mean, you know he's the Niners don't exactly have Jim Otto and Larry Allen playing guarden center for him. It's part of the problem too, So it's a huge advantage for the Chief.
They only signed him John to a one year deal. I know they probably wanted to move off him. Boy, he'd be a hard move for me. I mean, I feel like he's the soul of that defense.
I think it's very difficult. But I do think the money that some of these teams that are desperate that they're gonna throw around, and this is where this would be a third contract with them. This is the Belichickian type move. And Belichick could pull these moves off once he had one ring, two rings, now three rings. Let's face it, Andy and Veach, now with Patrick by their side, have so much equity they can kind of do whatever
they want. And when they did it two years ago and they traded Tyreek Hill, it looked crazy, like you're trading this guy who's gone on to have i mean, two of the best years he's ever had in Miami, all time great player, and they've won two super Bowls since. So I'm with you, it's impossible to replace that right that they hit. They struck Oil in the second round and got a Hall of Fame player. But one thing with Belichick beside the quarterback, when it came to the big,
big money, that third contract. I mean, you're talking a defensive lineman right, one hundred plus million dollars guaranteed. Yeah, Kelsey's getting longer in the tooth. You're gonna have to pivot on some offense. They definitely improve offensive line. Thony's hurt. He's a highly paid guy. You never might have to move off him. So if I was a betting man right now, I think when you win the Super Bowl,
it helps make a very tough decision. When they traded Tyreek, Andy Reid would have told everyone that he knows that I know, I'm trading a great player, but this is a financial pie that we have to build. And look at what they did. They got a first and second round pick. How good is mcduffy. I mean, is that like a Charles Woodson hybrid? How good is that guy? Gonna be so great? And this is why when you have a great GM that when you can make a tough move. I don't know if they can, I forget
if they can franchise and trade him or not. But even if he goes, you get a comp pick. Veitch has proven Karlovskis, I mean all over the place in that draft two years ago when they traded Hill their first two picks in the first round, their pick and the Tyreek Hill pick, McDuffie and Karlovskis, and those guys
were all over the play. I mean, McDuffie has a chance to be one of the better dbs in the league because he can cover, he can blitz, he's physical, and these guys, they get to the point once you're really in your prime with your quarterback. And Bill was like this for a long time. Is Andy now knows every player in the league, right, He's literally evaluated every guy in the league. And then he gets a GM and a personnel guy. And that's the one thing Bill.
Once Pioli left, he had Casario for a while. Beach isn't going anywhere. So they're such a lockstep on exactly what they're looking for. Mahomes is in the boat with them a lot like Brady, right, but it's their relationships even better because like Andy would go to dinner with Mahomes where Bill would not. With their relationship is much more in a friendly manner professionally and personally that I
think you can make tough decisions. And let's face it, you win this third Super Bowl, what can Andy do beside getting rid of mahomes that anyone's gonna question.
Well, And also I think Chris Jones can say, hey, listen, I got another ring. I'm gonna go get paid.
I got three.
I'm going to Jacksonville, Tampa. No state tax at.
Them, one hundred and twenty million dollars guaranteed.
Yeah, And I never once a guy gets rings in the NFL. I get it, especially when you're playing one of these life altering positions like D line or O line where it takes years off your life. I mean, you come out it with six shoulder surgeries, your hands are mangled. Just go get your money, like take care of your family, your mom and your dad, that kind of stuff. So I think, you know, there'll be so many different headlines in this game. Usher didn't do a
thing for me. I felt it was like late. It was like twenty.
Eight that was my childhood. I enjoyed it.
I was like pre game show commercials. Usher second half unbelievable. The you know, one of the bigger headlines, and I think I thought, I guess my take on Pretty is this. I thought he was really composed in the first half, like over, I thought he was kind of blew me away. I did think that there is a way. You know, people say there's a way that defend Lamar put pressure on him. Well, there's a way to defend Purtty. It's
pretty obvious now. Spags is great, So it's not like Pretty struggled against you know, this is a great defensive coordinator and say this.
I think can over almost it at the end.
Yeah, I think I think this defense by Kansas City is fast and twitchy, and I think people will now acknowledge, holy shit, it's really good. But Baltimore kind of ate Pretty up a little bit. I think Pretty played too well in this game for him to get a lot of heat. But to talk tomorrow will be well, you know, you settle for a field goal, Mahomes gets a touchdown. Do you think Pretty you'll get any heat at all?
No. I think it's more on Kyle. I you know, you're making nine hundred grand. I mean, Kyle's making fifteen million. He's the star of the show. One thing, if I wanted to criticize Kyle the play caller, and I think you see it with Andy went. Part of the thing with Kyle is his offense is his offense. Where Andy is adapt over the years a million. He plays one way with Alex, he plays another way with Mahomes. He used to pass probably too much. Now he has no
problem running the ball. He's got that Belichick mindset of like I'll do whatever it takes. Where Kyle's offense is his offense. And one thing they do not do beside the play action rollout is just like a rollout. Snap the ball to him and get Purty on the move. One of Purdy's defining characteristics which no one really knew when he first started playing, which is evident now is his mobility's pretty good. Yeah, and Kyle doesn't ever get
him on the move. What happens multiple times. There was a play early in the game, a throwback to Kittle that was negated for the penalty. Get him moving. He's an instinctive player, but that's not Kyle's offense because he doesn't have Kyle does not have a drop back passing offense. It's all tied to the run. Yes, and even when he gets pass happy. It's still run fakes to the
pass or a quick screen fake. That's part of Kyle's deal, And I wonder if he just adapts a little bit moving forward next year with Purdy, because their team's still going to be really good. They're probably be the betting favorite after the draft to win the NFC. But I do. I mean, you know, Andy only got there once with Philly and he lost it. He lost a lot of the championship games, and then next time he got back with Mahomes, he won it, and the rest is history.
Now he's winning it. Kyle's been there twice now and lost in this one the longest overtime in league history, I would imagine.
And in both games out played Mahomes for at least three quarters.
I was playing winning football. It's one thing if you get it's one thing if you're the Denver Broncos playing that Seattle team, get your ass kicked. What are you gonna do? You know, It's just like, damn, we were not you have these type games. I don't know how he sleeps for a week, because he's been around this long enough to know how hard it is to get back. Listen,
I think they're gonna stay maintained being pretty good. But how many opportunities do you get where your team comes out Ready, they had just looked pretty shitty the last couple of playoff games, out playing them even in overtime. You drive first and score if you could just somehow get a stop, maybe get him to miss a long field goal. And what happened. Mahomes makes a couple of plays, Andy makes a couple of great play calls. All of a sudden, they get a wide open town. It just ends.
And I think one of the question marks I would imagine in the Bay Area that where Kyle had to call the time out with Wilkes. This is the thing, and we'd been talking about it for a while with Spags and Andy. He doesn't have to worry about Spags getting a job. He's going nowhere, so he has full trust and a great coordinator. Where Kyle lost back to back coordinators who he knew he felt comfortable with, and now he had to go outside and clearly like welks
of solid like he was good tonight. But this is not exactly the twenty nineteen in Kansas City. You know, does Kyle think he's great? No? But you know, you're kind of in no man's land with this guy's a defensive coard. He's not some great defensive coordinator. If they were all available, he's not a top ten pick in the league. So that, to me is one question mark with the forty nine ers moving forward is how much
trust Kyle has in his defensive court. And there was a point this year where they lost three straight games. Thought he was gonna get fired. Yeah, but they didn't really have anyone else on the staff. And then when you have to, how often does an offensive coach who's the head coach call a time out because he doesn't like to look on defense after he gave up a blitz. It's very very rare. And even Romo's like, he probably did the right thing, but it's not. Andy doesn't even
have to do that. And I think, I don't know, maybe they just they would have ran out of gas, even if you know Bill Belichick was their defensive coordinator.
Yeah, I thought Romo brought up a good point in the second half.
I thought they were good tonight. I know they take a lot of shit, but I thought they were fine.
You know, I had said this about Andy Reid. If I look at Bill Belichick's career, it is overwhelmingly tied to one player. I mean, they were bad in New England before Brady, they were bad after him, weren't very good in Cleveland. I you know, I'll say this, we don't consider Bill Russell with eleven rings better than Jordan was six. I think Mahomes is the best quarterback I've ever seen. I think Andy Reid is the best coach I've ever seen. He's not tied. Donovan McNabb was a
B minus quarterback. He was always inaccurate. He was an athlete not ideal size. You know, he's always a short hop stuff. He was kind of like he was a good quarterback.
He was out of shape in the Super Bowl Colin. I mean he was just throwing up in the Super Bowl.
I mean I just feel like Andy, who always gave Belichick problems even with second tier quarterbacks. I think Andy's a better coach than Belichick. First of all, when that when you go to overtime, we're all just I mean Romo and Nance were like, oh, this is Andy Reid, this is this is this is almost unfair. I mean, Andy hide stuff so much in New England's success was
tied to an offensive line coach. I mean, if you go look when Scott Poldie leaves in the last eight or nine drafts, when Bill controlled them, he didn't draft well. He's toned. He's allergic to offense. Once he lost offensive people, Bill really regressed badly. I think you look at Andy Reid's coaching tree, his ability to adapt win with multiple quarterbacks, multiple coordinators. I think Andy's the best football coach since Bill Walsh. That's my take. You know, again, Bill Russell
had some advantages. You know, it was read our bocket were fewer teams and Bill. I'm not in no way saying Bill. I mean, listen, he helps find Dante Skarneki, he you know, helped he drafted Brady I think. But I think Andy Reid. I mean, we think shanahaned is elite. We both do top three or four coach in the year. That game comes down to that last drive. I mean you have to acknowledge that. And he's doing stuff. They're hiding stuff they haven't used. I don't know when I watched.
When I watch Andy Reid's teams in big games, I mean he's the best coach up a bye of all time. He's now very close to being the best big game coach ever. They win more close games, more games they've trailed in the half. I'm not in any way discounting Mahomes's ability, but shit, that last drive in overtime, it is so clever. I mean, how many third and twos and fourth and two did they run a play? And you're like, oh, haven't seen that one this year? I don't know where do we classify Andy Reid?
Yeah, I mean I think he's definitely You know, Walsh is gonna go down as probably the most famous coach of all time, right there with Lombardi. Right when you close your eyes, you say the NFL, you'd go Walsh, Lombardi, and you said Belichick two. You know, Walsh won three Super Bowls. People forget Seaford one two, right, So Andy
now has three. One thing that's not debatable with him and Bill because I do think Bill has taken some unfair criticism, Like we watched him make incredible moves in the biggest games, from double passes to not calling the time out against Pete Carroll to embarrassing Sean McVay, who, granted was like thirty four at the time, but still they scored three points in the Super Bowl when their teams are not Super Bowl contenders, right, And Andy's proven it
with he was making the playoffs with Jeff Garcia. He had Alex Smith competing to win that division when Peyton Manning was in it. You remove Tom Brady, the team is horrendous, awful. And I would say if you just factor in the errors eras and you've talked about this, Belichick in an era where defense is physical is cream of the cromp right. He was developing defensive game plans for Parcels to take out Walsh in Montana. Early on in Brady, he had those physical teams taking out Marshall
Falk in the Super Bowl. Some of the great game plans. But that league no longer exists. The league we're in now is Kyle Shannan, Sean McVay, Andy Reid, offensive league, innovative. How to get first downs is just, if not more important than defense. And Andy's the best. It's not even close. And I think anyone that knows him, and I knew him before he had a Super Bowl, he's just an
incredible human being. You know, that's one thing people defend Belichick that have been around him because they had a lot of success around him. People defend Andy that have been around him before he won it because they liked them, because the way he treated people, the way he acted
in the office, the way he was to coaches. Look at his coaching tree, Like if you factor that in one thing, Bill Walsh got a lot of credit for right was one Super Bowls always pivot off players and found guys like I don't know, Mike Holmgren, George Seffert who then led it. They had this, you know, kind of opening with what came with coaches that became ran the league. Bill Bill was the opposite. Right, look at Andy's coaching tree. It's freaking incredible, and those guys swear by him. Ya.
Matt Naggi is considered a miss in a time when Stafford Rogers and Kirk Cousins were in their prime. He got He got Miss Trubisky to the playoffs twice.
Miss is one of the I think mister Whisky was like the worst contract in the league. He made eight million dollars and he's not even He's barely a third string quarterback. Matt Naggie's gonna be head coach in the NFL again, promise you he will be. You know who likes him the most on the staff beside Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes Like, I'm sorry, I'm giving that guy some credit of understanding what's what can coach or not? Nobody Bill Walsh would have struggled with mister Whisky. How many
games would Elichick of one? Mister Bisky? The guy, The guy can't hit water if he's sitting on a boat in the middle of the ocean. So I listen. I think Andy Reid. The scary part is Colin. He's just not done, like all this retirement talk. Andy's not a fisher.
And also, to your point, they'll move off Chris Jones. They've got They've done a good job drafting Carl Loftis and some other players. They got some pass rush, so they'll move off Chris. They'll probably try to get Kelsey to sign another deal. But I mean they're not I mean, they're the smart teams in this league, I think are they'll pay. They'll pay a front five guy, Aaron Donald Rams, they'll pay him, Chris Jones. But the smart teams in this league is what drives me crazy about Pittsburgh. He
can't be spending your money on defense. Outside of a T. J. Watt, He's got to go draft safeties and corners, and most of these guys, if you look at them Kansas City, they're not drafting a corner. Occasionally, if it's a big need, they'll go early, but a lot of them are fourth, fifth, and sixth round draft picks. Same with running backs. So I just think I look at Andy and I think to myself that New England started to show signs of regression.
Even after the Atlanta Super Bowl. It was very obvious they could not draft a receiver or a tight end after Gronk. You started seeing that at the end. Remember Brady on the bench screaming, get open. I don't know where Kansas City's organization has a whole draft develop communication, quarterback defense bags. I always felt you could really see the more power Bill got, the worse the drafting. God, it wasn't even an argument. I mean, like Beach's hit
like he's like Brad Holmes in Detroit. You go to last three years, like six.
Hits in the light rounds too. It's not even just the first rounds. He's get bit. Jacob's a seventh rounder. Watson the dB. I think it was a seventh rounder. So they're getting players all over the draft.
Yeah, they don't really have I mean, they really don't. They they've got the they've got the ability to move off really popular talented guys, which you know a lot of organizations don't. They can't. They just can't move off them, I think. I mean, if I I'm trying to think my next year's Super Bowl bubble, I thought this would Honestly, I thought this was the year to get Kansas City.
Yeah, I think last year was too, and they've won two. I mean I was thinking, I've been watching I'm almost forty years old, so I remember watching sports for thirty years. Right. The Cowboys in the mid nineties had a great run. The Yankees obviously, the Bulls, the Patriots had a couple iterations. This five year stretched by the Chiefs three Super Bowls, been to another and lost it, been to six straight AFC Championship games. It's as good of a run some
of the Warriors. And the difference to the Warriors, I mean, they got Kevin Durant, so of course they weren't going to lose some of those Yankee teams, they had unlimited money, they were buying players. The way they've done it, this is a lot very similar to the Patriots. They made some tough decisions. It was coaching development led by star quarterback, led by intel, diligence, led by character. The other thing
at with my guy on the Chiefs. And this is where I think the two teams have a lot in common, the character on these teams. How hard these guys work, how into football they are, how much they care about football, how serious they take this Like this is not some scool Around half the teams in the league. I mean, some of their best players are not dependable guys on a seven day week basis. That is not the case with the Kansas Chiefs. It's not the case of the
forty nine ers. It's why these teams are kind of consistently winning, right And obviously the Chiefs have that added element with Mahomes, which is kind of their trump card right now. But the football character that was on display in this game was something I would imagine every GM when they go in a couple weeks, the combine is going to go. You start interviewing these guys because it is easy. It's like, well, look at how many plays this guy can make well, he's got about seven red
flags is offensive coordinator. College wasn't a big fan and they don't overlook that stuff or they make sure that like that's a non negotiable because you get in the fourth quarter in overtime, your twenty first game of the season, If you're not locked in, if you're not into it, if you haven't been training all year long, you have
no shot, you have no shot. And that's the one thing Andy, you know, who's always been he had a little Ale Davis to him at moments in his career that they are not screwing around in Kansas City with guys that just are like that. I mean, they do not have a guy on the team who's some huge red flag. And the other thing is they get guys from culture. Look at MBS is a good example. Come from the Packers and played in a lot of big games. Yeah,
he had some drops. Now granted they didn't have a lot of other options, and they said, Tony, they took a flyer on that right a couple of years ago because they were pretty desperate. Where's Tony now nowhere to be seen? Like, oh, we're just done. You're saying all this moronic stuff. You're dropping. See you, You're not even We're not even giving you a helmet anymore. Right, And they just put a lot of teams would struggle because they need that speed. He's definitely one of the more
talented players. You talk to them, they say, you should see this guy in practice. I can't trust them and in a game like to listen because you're gonna have Christian McCaffrey at a fumble today, right, You're you're gonna have great players, are gonna screw up. But can I trust you in the biggest moments. I thought today, for the most part, why I like this game so much. All the best players were making plays, Guys that had
developed over the years were making plays. And both coaches, both coaching staffs, beside a couple of little things by the Niners, were pretty excellent. Yeah.
I mean, I think one of the things I feel bad because I have a friend You're obviously you have connections to the Niners. I have a couple of friends that are big Niner fans, and this one hurts.
This one hurts.
I know it does, because you out played it. You were the better team for most of the game. I thought you got Mahomes. You know you got tigered when he went through that ten year you know, you know he.
Just did it. What are you gonna do?
What are you gonna do? He's hitting irons out of the rough to eighty. You know, what are you gonna do? So I kind of look at the thing that can't be overlooked. I thought Fred Warner was spectacular. I thought Boso was spectacular. I thought my cat Free was spectacular. I know it's really painful, but I thought Moody. I mean it's I know what you just say, it's a game. But when you draft him as high as you do, you know, some real place, you get two fifty plus
yard field goals. I mean, going into the off season, John Lynch is validated.
Feel very good about it, for sure.
Yeah. So I think the way Purty played, the way Moody kicked, you gotta feel good. I mean, God, it's just I'm not sure if I've ever felt worse for a Super Bowl losing team.
Why. Romo mentioned this on the broadcast that when they were talking to Fred Fritz, I'm not just the heart and soul of the defense. I'm the heart and soul of the team. Like I understand that that's my role. It's pretty telling when they went to overtime. You know, when the game starts, they send seventeen players each out there for the coin flip, right, eight Chiefs, eight nine Ers.
In overtime, one of the great quarterbacks of all time goes out there, and the forty nine Ers send their linebacker, right, And that's ideally you would send your quarterback as well. Right, this is Peyton versus Brady or Rogers was Brady. But I mean the Niners aren't gonna send Purty out there, so and and that kind of you know, at the end of the day, like you would, you always want to be the team. Like I don't blame the nine Ers sending Fred Warner. He's on a Hall of Fame trajectory.
He's an all time great player, is one of the great players in the history of the franchise. But like, ideally, in that moment, the heart and soul of your team, the heart and soul of the Patriots for you know, twenty plus years, was Tom Brady the heart and soul of every Peyton manning team, the warrior. Yeah, and it's just you send your your lineback. He can only do so much, and he was. He made play after play, He's covered Kelsey one on one in the corner of
the end zone with a game online. But that was and I don't expect them to send brock Purty, but that was a moment like this is we're sending one guy. This guy's carrying our franchise. You don't even I beant. Kyle didn't even hesitate Fred go right. I mean, it's just you just know, right, you would send Michael Jordan, you would send Steph Curry, you would send Derek Jeter, and the forty nine ers sent a middle linebacker, just like the Ravens over the ar they would send Ray Lewis. Ideally,
you send your quarterback. And that was the difference in the game. Is Mahomes I mean on that fourth down when he kept it and Bosam went on the run and he ran, It's like he doesn't get the credit for being this mobile guy. And then when he runs, you're like, well, he may not be as fast as Josh Allen, but he's not that much slower. You know, he makes runs when you cause he doesn't play that way that often, and he never you know, with Lamar's running by guys Josh's run over guys. He doesn't want
to do that. He wants to throw, but when he has to, you go, oh, yeah, that's the athlete of a former Big leaguer, Like you see, he's an elite human athlete, right. Yeah.
You don't usually have a spy on Mahomes, but I almost think going I watched this game today and I thought, you almost now have to have a spy on fourth down on Mahomes, Like that's just how you have to defend him. Just too often he takes it over. And I thought, where I thought Shanahan and Andy Reid are really good is one of the things that will dry. And I try not to beat up on coaches for play calling. I don't know who's healthy, I don't know
who's hurt. I don't know what the film says. Sometimes you know, shit happens the middle of a game and you just can't use somebody.
What if your best play is against their best player, you know you don't feel great about it.
I thought both coaches in the biggest moments, McCaffrey, Debo, Kelsey, Mahomes, Pacheco, the coaching on display every time there was a big play, like Tony Romo said it. You think they're not going to give it to Mahomes. You weren't going to hand this to a seventh round running back, and we in Isaiah Pacheco was really good. But I you know, I just I look at my notes and I sit down here and I think, and I think, my heart breaks for San Francisco they played. So I have these notes.
Warner Bosa, Jesus, what a half Bosa first half? MVP. You know, it was ten three at half and Kansas City only had one good drive in the first half. It was the last drive and they settled for a field goal. That not that I didn't because I always think they make adjustments, but I did think after they drove down the field and they got a field goal, I'm like, I know, they're only down ten to three. They got to move the ball on that first drive, like they got to get field goal position back. I
thought a big part of this game. I thought Kansas City felt like they were pinned.
I thought two huge plays in the game because the first series of the game, the forty nine ers drove the ball right down their throat and you're like, they're gonna score a touchdown, and then McCaffrey, who feels like never has anything wrong happened, become fumble and then the Niners kind of thoroughly out playing him throughout the game. And then the punt bounces off the dude's foot and Ray Ray has to try to dive on it, and it just and there was another fumble by a Chief
that went right into a Chief. And there were a couple of little breaks that could have opened the forty nine ers and kind of gave them some breathing room that they definitely would have needed against my Mahmes that just didn't happen and went the other way. And the Chiefs, I mean, have clearly proven that if you give them life and you do not separate, because fourteen points, if you would have got up a couple scores against the Chiefs with the way the Niners defense was playing, they
would have been in good shape. But they could never extend that lead. And they had a couple of moments where it's like, if you just make this an eleven point game a fourteen point game, the Chiefs offense is not good that they are just a remarkable play caller and a great quarterback, and Kelsey can make a play here. They're there, but it's not like Kelsey had ten for Buck fifty today and they couldn't do it in one
area all season long. When the Niners will win a lot of their big games, they scored a lot of touchdowns, and I think it gets back to that inability to break tackles, the inability for big plays. I mean, they're pretty dependent on Juwan Jennings. Think about that, Like, it's not like Deebo was going nuts. Kittle was borderline non existent. Beside he had one big catch I think on the
fourth down. But they were very, very dependent on their third wide receiver, which to me, I'm not Belichick when it comes x his nose, but that has to speak to Spagnola taking away their main guys, you know, getting up there in Deebo. Deebo is not exactly Marvin Harrison as a route runner, I you kiss, but they're so physical at the line with their corners that it's hard. And then Chris Jones getting some much pressure and he'll blitz. Purty doesn't have that long to get him the ball
in those deeper breaking routes. So they kind of got to want I mean, think for the forty nine er score one of their touchdowns they had to do. I mean, Kyle Sanna is not exactly a trick play guy had to do like a triple pass. Yeah, back to McCaffrey. So that kind of shows that. Like you said, I don't think this Chiefs defense because of the play caller and the head coach. Some of those great Bill Walsh teams were all time great defenses, but no one talks
about him like that because you get overshadowed. Last night I checked Chicago Bulls like one of the great defensive teams of all time. But all we talk about is the offense this Chiefs team, and I would imagine Andy and Veitch. Andy doesn't drink, but you know when they're eating a cheeseburger and hanging out, they know how special that unit was because they were They were dominant this last month. I mean dominant, dominant.
I mean and the linebackers again, you just don't know who they are, but they're there. I would I think they have the best corners in the league. I think they have the best young linebackers in the league. They don't have a Fred Warner Rokwan Smith.
I just the ather d Lineman play hard that you've never heard.
Of, never heard of.
So it is.
God, I love this game. It is you know I was thinking about this, is that streaming Netflix takes over retail, Amazon takes over theme parks, Disney takes over all those things were up for grabs at some point in the process, right, Like it doesn't matter if it's banking or it's football. Is if you look at Brady Belichick, Mahomes and Andy Reid, is it's Tiger in his like twelve year run. Micholson's
got six more majors without Tiger. And before people say well Lamar, Lamar can't do this, or you know, Kyle Shanahan can't do this, we are looking Brady and Mahomes have just put a lot of people on the shelf. Think about this, What did Big Ben his last eight
ten years? Like he just disappeared into the ether and he had great defenses and great receivers Levy and Bell is I feel bad for the sport because you know, like I watch Brady win so many close games over more talented Ravens teams or a more talented Bronco Temera, and well, I just I look at this Kansas City team. It's almost discouraging because everybody around the team's going, well, shit, they don't even have a number one receiver. I mean, Rice really to me feels like a great two, but
can be a one. I mean, if I said to you, like I liked what Baltimore did this year, I don't know.
I like.
I look at football right now, it would not shock me if both of these teams are back big squishes average.
You know, the thing I've always admired about Tom Brady, about Tiger in his prime, about great people in business, is no matter how much money, no matter how much they success, they have the ability to maintain the discipline of what got you there because the wind always blows the strongest of the top of the mountain, right. And that's what Tiger and I would say Brady defined over
their careers is their work ethic. After unlimited money, unlimited success, unlimited fame, everyone that were ever around him was like that. They never it was insane how hard they worked. And that gets back to Mahomes like I have seen it with Andy. He's the hardest working guy I've ever seen. He's like a machine. But it doesn't matter how a lot of coaches work hard. You have to have it
in your players. And I think one thing when you have Patrick Mahomes, who's wired pretty clearly now, like he'd already won a couple, and the way he turned it on this season after kind of going through the mud against the Raiders on that Christmas Day game, I think was pretty definitive. This is the most incredible stretch of his career, right, this is the defining moment of We've seen all the crazy throws, we've seen the no look passes,
we've seen the fifty yard bombs. We know he's a champion, but when you win it like this, when everyone's gunning for you and for the first time, like a lot of obviously a lot of the money was on the Chiefs, right I mean, the books took him bath today the last two games. A lot of people rightfully so. And I'm telling you the Chiefs, I was told, did they thought that that Baltimore defense is the best unit that they had faced over this run top to bottom, just
that defense? Right? So them getting past that group, it was like, obviously they knew the Niners were really good. I mean they expected that technically were the underdog in this game, but that ability to be unphazed after winning a championship and to maintain that level of wark ethic is how like Michael Jordan just wanted more, Tiger wanted. A lot of guys don't. A lot of guys like, eah, cool, I've wanted. I'm super rich. Like shit, I'll just go kick it.
You know, John, I was told this year's ago, how do you handle success? Everybody handles losing the same way. They're pissed and they work harder. How do you handle success? A lot of guys don't handle it well. A lot of people, like in society is stockbroker has a good year, he blows the money. He look up two years he's it's not putting the effort in. So to me, you've had success, look at you. You work hard. It drives you. Like a lot of people in my business. In football,
they have some brief success and they cash out. They get their Bentley, they get their second home. You know, they got twenty eight million in the bank. Your football player, take care of your mom whatever. Really a defining the two defining characteristics of most great anything, Tiger MJ is a resiliency. You know, I tell my kids all the time, go watch that Michael Jordan ten part documentary Best Looking Player,
best Player, best coach, but best number two. Robin it was hard he's battling is GM his owner Dennis Rodman. It's hard. He was getting tackled by the Pistons and the Celtics. Resiliency, I mean Mahomes has had to overcome two offensive line rebuilds. He's got a father that's had some embarrassing public moments, a brother that's fairly high maintenance.
I mean people are a wife who likes the limelight, now.
Yeah a little bit. Yeah, So it's Mahomes has shown an amazing resilience to social life, family life, fame. It's just incredibly resilient. Multiple rebuilt O line, receiving core. He just can handle it. And another thing is I mean he makes forty five million dollars a year endorsements. I've been told more than that. It used to be twenty years ago football players. I remember watching Donovan McNabb get
a soup commercial. I was like, oh, I've never seen an NFL guy get a commercial outside of like a local truck dealer. The guy's making forty five to fifty five million year in endorsements and it's just it's important to him. He wants to be respected. But I think the two great things are resiliency and how do you
handle winning? And you know, you party, you have a great weekend, and then you get back to f and work four days later, and that seems you know, there's this I always hear this, Oh, this toxic masculinity, this sort of toxic people who are obsessed with working. That's what all the great people do in every industry. It just it's a defining trait.
Well, I get asked so much now that I do this is like advice, and my number one advice always is you gotta find what you like doing because you're gonna end up working so much that it's so much easier to work hard when you like what you're doing. And I think this speaks to why Patrick Mahone, a lot of the great athletes, Mahomes, Brady Tiger, they loved their sport. Andy Reid is a if football was crack, he'd be a crack addict. He loves football like it's his life.
Means like Jim Harball, Yeah.
It's it's most coaches, right, Kyle Shanahan, Shom mcvage. They are addicted to football. You could not work the hours you have to work without loving it. That's why would I work in the NFL. It's like, hey, you know, I like other sports. I like doing others. There's other elements that I don't like it as much as they do. They Rett Veach is addicted to football. And I think this speaks to when the combine comes around in the draft, the character of the guys, because you think McDuffie's gonna
try any less harder, no super high character guy. They know they feel very Kelsey all these years. But the Kelsey brothers are great examples how much they enjoy playing football. Most of football is not the super Bowl. It's for the next nine months working out. OTA's training, eating right, not doing things, turning things down because you gotta you gotta train, you gotta work. You get such a small for all the money you have. You have ninety million dollars.
That's the other thing. So he's making forty five on the field, forty five off. He's twenty seven to twenty eight. Ninety nine point nine percent of humans would take the foot off the gas. It's human nature. It doesn't feel he's phased at all by it, and a lot of these guys I give a lot of you, Josh Allen, Lamar, I think it's impressive for all the top players in the NFL. I think the league, and I've always defended this, the percentage of guys that get in trouble, that the
league is full of the highest character, hardest working. If they weren't in the NFL, they would be so successful in whatever they were doing.
I thought about that. I've thought about that before in most poor leagues, but I mean, the NFL is are very much a domestic league. How lucky is this league? It was such a great story a seventh rounder and then Mahomes, How lucky is this league? If you said, and I've defended Lamar Jackson on this, that kid gets so pissed when he loses. He wants it so bad, he wants it so bad. But think about the quarterbacks
in the league. Now, the top ones Josh Allen, Herbert Mahomes, Lamar, Jalen Hurds like Burrow Burrow, Trevor Lawrence, like they're just great guys.
And then the cousins that kind of crew.
And then then you get these stories like you know, Brock Purdy, there's so many different ways to be a quarterback in this league now. And the great thing about brock Purty is that it will He'll get guys drafted. I mean, people will start taking six and seven round quarterbacks because you become It's like I thought, Russell Wilson got Kyler Murray, Johnny Manziel Baker. Mayfield's like, yeah, they're a little short. Is that? I think the league's really lucky.
And now that's not to say the NBA has bad guys, but a lot of their greatest players, they're more mature players, are international players because they play with men. When these kids are like fifteen sixty, they play with men. You have to grow up very quickly. Our domestic players. It's more of an AAU, a little more juvenile basketball operation or like international basketball. So many of the great players in the NBA, though great people, they're they're international players.
Are guys you know you watch them for three or four years they come into this league. There's not many. There's not many knuckleheads. There's good guys.
You get weeded out so fast because how hard it is you really do because the majority of the week is not playing. Playing is easy, Like if baseball, you get to play every day. In basketball, you play every other day unless you're a star, then you play once a week. In football, you get one game. And that's the fun part. Ray Lewis, you pay me Monday through Saturday. Sundays are for free. The games are fun, but most of it is not. You're not just lifting, you're lifting
hard hard to eating. The discipline of food. If you're a big guy, if you ever play with the older offensive lineman, like what you played offensive line in the league, he weighs like two forty, He's like, yeah, I used to have to eat ten thousand calories a day during training, Like it's not easy to do that. Jason Kelsey is a good example. He's naturally probably two hundred and sixty pounds, but he has to carry that three hundred. You have to maintain that with food. It's not always fun, Like
I like to eat, but not on that level. It's a very very and then the physical element of the sport. I mean, you just get how many times today, I know I held my breath half the Niners when they got tackled. Every time Christian McCaffrey goes down, Like God, I hope he gets up Deebo Samuel, like God, I hope he gets because the collisions in this game. I
saw Lewis Riddick talking about this this week. He said that, you know, back when they played in the in the eighties and nineties of John lynch Day's it was obviously much more physical and much more reckless, but it was guys weren't The training was a lot different. You know, there was drinking and it's just now you were much more likely to get killed nowadays, the training, I mean, all these guys are the lean muscle mass they have.
I mean they're just purely muscle and they've never been faster. So if they didn't regulate the hits out of the game, I mean, you would have some serious injuries because there are collisions. Now. I love physical football. I grew up on that type football and I miss it. Sometimes the
game is still when it matters, really physical. The level in which these corners and safeties all tackled, they all wait for the combine how many guys, how many dbs wide receivers, running backs and safeties don't run four four or four five. If you run four five five, we're like hey slow. You know, back in the day, A lot of guys playing in the NFL run four to seven. That that difference when you factor in a little extra muscle mass and you're running from four to seven to
four four eight, that collision hits a little harder. And I listen, I miss those days. But I do think that the biggest in the biggest games this league is still about physicality and tackling.
Yeah, let's I thought. You know, it's one of the things about the NFL that I think you and I appreciate this is that I think it's a really well run league, and I think it's easy. A lot of people in the media, a lot of newspaper people tend to be precious and they're.
Kind of getting crushed. Last week he was getting destroyed.
What are we talking about. People just don't understand everything is up. They handled, uh, you know, the Kaepernick situation. They move are not easy for le Black Lives Matter, those are those are big social movements. Those are not easy to navigate. And I think about seventy percent of players, NFL players African American, He's navigated that. Players like him, corporations like him. They're you know, I know, having talked to people at networks. They're tough, but rightfully so you
out a product you want. But if you start looking at how smart they've been with moving, extending the draft, moving free agency, putting stuff on Christmas. You know, I saw the NBA trade deadline was during a Super Bowl week? What are you doing? What the what the f are you doing? Baseball gives it to Wards like two months after the season. They don't give him on the same day. There's no buzz, like it's all of a sudden, out of the blue. You're like, that guy won the American
League MVP. Like in four days later, that guy won't come back Player of the Year. It's like, the hell are you doing here? The NFL has done a remarkable job to own the calendar. I mean, if I was baseball, the there's an opening. Sean McVay didn't play starters. It worked. Now nobody plays starters. The preseason's dead. NFL's cut a game, They may cut another game. It's just dead. Baseball. August is wide open. They'll never move on it. It's wide open.
Guys like you and me, we take August off. It's like an off month. If you shorten baseball by one hundred and twenty games and you start playoffs like August eighth, you own the month. That's what football would do. That's what he watched the NBA get this big marketing day when everybody's home on Christmas and Goodell's like, no, we're moving games. So when I look at the NFL, there's
a lot of reasons. It's popular, scarcity, gambling, but it's really it's made everything else niche and they don't they navigate politics. They're good to their players, but don't pander and coddle. They've got mobility but also loyalty, and I think they manipulate the calendar. And when I see these people get on Roger Goodell. I've had drinks with him once in dinner. He's really a good listener. He's just always what do you think. I remember I had him
on the show like several years ago. It was before the Super Bowl with New England and Philly, and I said, Commissioner, I love your sport. I don't know what a catch is. I don't understand what a catches. And he literally said in the air he goes Colin, it's a big problem that super Bowl. They literally switched it for the Supermember there were a couple of juggling catches by the Eagles
in the end zone. They were touchdowns. And I don't know, I just when I when I look at the NFL in my business, you got to talk about it about sixty five percent of the time. I think it's I don't even know what the hole is like. I think it's a brilliant league and incredibly well run.
You could argue that you could talk about it eighty eighty five percent of the time and not skip a beat. I thought the criticism for him and a lot of big Big Jay's they were very, very angry at Roger holding this press conference. I didn't question, like, no one cares. The average fan does not care what Roger's saying. The other thing is no one asotiated with the NFL players, coaches, executives, owners, people like us that talk about it have ever had
more success because of the popularity of this sport. Yet, if you just pull the average person that writes about the NFL, they would say Roger sucks. And on the flip side, they would say Adam Silver is great. And listen, maybe it goes back to he doesn't playkate with them. He doesn't text many of them. Maybe I've never met the guy. I don't have any dog in the fight. Beside, I like football. But the league, think about how about this week is a good example. They were very very
against Vegas for a long period of time. My father works for a big farmer back in the seventies that bought a Vegas casino, the maxim Do you remember that? When you got there in a gun bankrupt and he had bought it. And when he bought it, the guy comes up to him and says, Jack, we got three or four rooms with basically the equivalent of Joe Peshi, roberts Niro and Ray Liota. They don't pay. I would just let them be those mob guys, right and they
I guess forever seventies eighties is probably shady. You go there now it's corporate America s and P. Five hundred. It is normal business. And what have the NFL done? They shifted right there and that's that Vegas super Bowl should happen every four years, Max. I mean, you talk about a perfect place. It's made for that. And now they have the how awesome did that Super Bowl look on television in that in that stadium? And they listened.
They were very at adamant anti Vegas. Remember Tony got in trouble and then the laws changed and they quickly pivoted and they moved a team there and they've never looked back.
Yeah, I think, and that's what people I talked to. I have always been partial to Miami because it's just such a walk around on Ocean Avenue and it's warm Ocean Ocean Drive, and then I think it's Collins Drive or whatever is behind it. I love just walking and by the way, it's it's it's like South America. It's cold and the rest of the country. It's even cold in California, Dallas, and then it's warmed out in Miami. But I always thought Miami did the best job. And
Los Angeles is more than capable. But La is a big city. In traffic's an issue, traffic downtown because of that F one race. It really f the traffic. Vegas has never had great traffic. But you know the other thing is about the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. Go look up the twenty biggest hotels in America eighteen or in Vegas. You go to these places like the MGM, the biggest hotel in most American cities may have six four hundred and fifty rooms. These things have like eight thousand.
I stayed on the sixty fifth floor at the Cosmo. I mean, I don't know how many rooms the Cosmo has, but to do the math, there's got to be a lot.
So the city's just uniquely built. You know, I've said this for years. We don't move around Marty Gras, New Year's Rock and Eve. We don't move around a lot of the awards that we see on TV and radio. You don't have to move everything. I mean, this idea that we should have cold weather super Bowls. You can't put a super Bowl. We tried it in Jacksonville for christ Sake. I was there. They had to bring in chips.
There was nowhere to sleep. I mean, have they were having local They had to call in three thousand taxi drivers from like Miami. In Orlando. It was an as show. Put it in VI.
If I said the super Bowl, if I said the super Bowl was there five straight years, would anyone complain? I don't think they would. It's just you don't never need to go outside. It's just it's uniquely equipped for that. Yeah.
No, I thought Vegas crushed. I thought Goodell had another good year. They just navigate all the turbulence and social issues. I wouldn't be surprised if the same two teams are back here. I okay, so let's do this. Let's I thought Romo and Nance did have a good game. You know, it's funny. I don't they're going to move the deck chairs. I think the CBS pregame show there wasn't a memorable moment. They're all nice guys, but I didn't have a lot of oomph. To me, it's kind of Fox has had
that crew. It's like TNT basketball. It's just better than the ESPN. What are you gonna say, it's Barkley at Shack, it's Kenny Attorney. I think the Fox crew's been doing it.
You know.
It's a little older in the tooth, but it's just good. It's been good for a long time. It's smartly produced Bill Richards, it's great pieces, funny enough, and the CBS crew's okay to me, NBC at Night very okay to me.
Ah terrible.
Yeah, I'm not avail you, but I thought Romo and Nance were pretty good. I think Nance is great, and I think, you know, Tony is just kind of a squarely fun personality. Tony's the kind of guy that if you went out golfing with him, you'd.
Have a ball.
He'd tell you a million stories, and sometimes he can be a little bit loose. But I thought he did. I thought he was. I thought it was one of Tony's Romo's better broadcasts. I thought he started calling things very quickly.
You know.
One of the things he kept saying is you know, he'd be like, oh this this drive hurts, or he kept saying I thought it was really smart. He goes, okay that whatever you just saw there, that was a designed Shanahan play. He was calling that throughout the game. He would give the coach credit, not just the player.
And that's it.
There's a distinction there that we always give the quarterback credit. And he would say with like at the end, he's like, that's an Andy Reid play. Mahomes is great, that's an Andy Reid play. So I what is your take? I think Nansen Romo are fine. I do think once he signed that seventeen million dollars a year contract, he became a target, and once you're a target, it's hard.
I think he got pigeonholed in the lane if he calls the plays, which is not a sustainable thing to do. And I think it is hard to be the goofier guy if you're not a little older. You know, John Madden when he started calling games by the time I was a kid, was in his fifties right or sixties. Gruden was already this massive personality by the time he got the booth. When I think about Troy Aikman, I think guy like he'll crush some people. Troykman's kind of
an old school bat. He has that definitive lane and people kind of like that because a lot of announcers, the former players, they won't really be critical. Troy has no problem doing that. That's why that's mice. I enjoy that. Collins Worth is just one of those unique guys that I don't remember a play he ever made because by the time he was already retired by the time I
was probably ten. But he's just good. And you watch Tony sometimes against Lucy Becaus not really my style because he's never gonna be that critical on moments where it's like okay, Tony. But if you're not gonna do that, you have to do something else, and he kind of lost his fastball once he stopped doing the plays, and people thought he was starting getting the lazy because what's he doing. He's never going, well, that's a terrible call
when it obviously is. I think most people that sit on their couch now we've all watched a lot of football. Some stuff's pretty obvious. And when the announcers refuse because they're everybody's friends, they know these coaches, it's not that enjoyable, right, Why does Colin Coward have success? You're opinionated, You see something, you say it, and I think Tony was very hesitant to do that. In fairness to Peyton Manning, he's like, listen, I don't want to be critical, so he doesn't call
the games. Really he just does the thing with Eli. But if you're gonna sit in that chair, if you're gonna be Tom, it's gonna be hard. Like Tom, people are gonna want to hear you say that's a terrible play call because we watched you play and we know that's your style. Like you get mad and Peyton does it. Actually sometimes do any immediate kind of goes viral because people like that, and I think Tony's always really struggle
with that. Even day tries to play nice with both guys like Jim, I think you should go forward a year. They just just pick a lane, go and it's okay if you're wrong. But I think he's always very offen. He's always very hesitant. It feels like to offend the coach because he knows these guys well. They all text him, these buddies with them, and that, to me is my criticism. He just won't say stuff when it's pretty obvious. Sometimes
I don't care about the play calls. I like having a little fun whatever, but just say that was a terrible freaking call, Jim. That cannot happen in that situation. He's just never gonna where Troy. I would say, Troy, especially once Tony's got a lot of money, has no problem laying the law down and people enjoy that. Yeah.
So I think, to me, if I had to pick a play, the play of the game, to me, it's the third quarter, the San Francisco fumble punt which allows Mahomes next play touchdown thirteen to ten. I felt like until that point, I thought San Francisco not only had the physical momentum, the emotional momentum game. I thought just they were the better team. I did think that was the moment of the game. And San Francisco came back, but I did think that put pressure on Purty, That
put pressure on a chance. Okay, now you trail Mahomes. Now they responded very well, but to me, to me, it was sort of a defining play. It was like you looked up and went, Kansas City leads. They're getting out played significantly, and I in that moment, I thought, Okay, they're gonna win this game. They're gonna figure out a way to do it. That's my defining moment of the game. Third quarter. Is there one for you?
I would say there were multiple moments where the Niners had a chance to basically hold them to field goals and or super long field goals, and Andy and Mahomes dialed up the perfect play and they got a twenty yard game to Kelsey across the middle. They got that long play to Rice. And when I think this season, when it comes to Andy and Holmes, was not about the seventy yard bombs, was not really about the highlight
package that will define Mahomes's early career. It was about doing the stuff Tom Brady and Peyton Manning did that, Joe Montana did that, Troy Aikman did did ultimately wins you games. This to me, this defining stretch, but specifically today was about kind of the boring cliche winning football, and it was we know you're bringing the house here. We're going one on one cover with a linebacker that's not gonna be able to cover, and we're gonna get
Kelsey in space. He's gonna get a big game. And it's gonna be the momentum shift of that play on third and seven where Butker might have to kick a forty eight yard field goal. Now we're first and ten of the thirteen yard line and you're just like, oh my god, they're going to win the game. And they did that multiple times a day in the fourth quarter and obviously in overtime. I think I feel like they
did it multiple times in overtime. Well, big Rice first down, a big Mahomes run that was just you know, not every play with Michael Jordan were fade away game winning jumpers. There was just a lot of winning basketball. Some of Tiger's stuff was just he got up and down when he had to do on whole fourteen when no one was paying attention to most guys bogie and they did stuff like that. Today is the highest level of football, right,
Brett Fahv. All the great players, you know, the physical guys can make this spectacular play Steph Curry the other night, but he does so much other stuff that's winning. And today, like I thought, Mahomes and Andy were just so dialed in when it mattered the most. What a special listen I've known Andy now fifteen, What a great moment for him, you know, back to back Super Bowls. Not many guys
in the history of the league. And like I said, I think this is one of the great five six year runs in my lifetime of just a team do it multiple different ways. Like remember some of those Yankee teams right in the late nineties, they weren't all the same. When you get more credit when you do it like that, right, And I think today was they're just this was their grittiest, toughest, smartest and just refusing to kind of wilt and just finding a way almost digging it out of the dirt.
They didn't really have to do that earlier on, right, how they had to And now I don't think. I don't think they'll ever be a human. They're not going to win every Super Bowl. But no one's ever putting money on the other team against these guys ever. Again.
Yeah, and I think we said it earlier. The great teams, the great teams win it. When you think, oh, this is there. I said it all year. I said this is their pivot year. Stage one of the dynasty is Mahomes isn't making a money. Stage two is we gotta make some cuts. And last year I thought, oh, they're just too young on defense. Oh and this year I'm like, they're just not good enough a wide receiver. And they won.
This two year stretch has got to be discouraging because Baltimore is stacked, in San Francisco is stacked, in Philadelphia is stacked, And you're like, oh shit, these are the pivot years. So all right, John Middlecoff, former Scout three and out, good hour fifteen.
What a super Bowl?
Oh so good, so good. So now we talked about it for a couple of days. Then there's March heats up. It's a NFL free agency. I don't think Chris Jones will get paid. San Francisco doesn't have a ton of needs. Hard to pay two linebackers, they probably have to get another corner. They also have to start examining. I think they drafted a tight end last year. They got to get another tight end in there. I think you made
a good point earlier. Kittle's great player, but the gap between Kelsey and Kittle in big games, Jesus Travis really the two best big game tight ends I've ever seen, Gronk and Kelsey. This was a great playoff run for Travis Kelcey.
I'd say the highlight of the Niners week now. After losing this game, As Trent Williams said earlier, that winner lose this game, he still got a couple of years in. He likes playing for the Niners and Kyle, so that's one positive. Trent is still pretty damn even though he had a couple off sides. But when you're that good, you can live with a couple off sides. So the big guy is not going anywhere. But he's getting older. You know you're not gonna have him forever.
Yep, all right, John, that was fun.
I was I'm here. You want to talk some football? We got we got combined a couple of weeks I think I might go. I think I might go. It's gonna be a big combine, a lot of stuff going on.
All right. I'll tell her management to send your ship to Indy. Gonna marry at a hotel room somewhere I can see anybody.
See you soon.
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