We'll start the four o'clock hour right now with some football with one of our favorites, one of the best to ever do it. At the you spend some time with the Steelers, good enough to give us some time on a Monday afternoon, it's Sly Stevens and Sylvester. Happy Monday. Sly, how are we doing?
Happy Monday? Brother? How are you good? Man? Good?
So let's do a little NFL before we dig into some Utah football.
We do have some Utah football news that we'll talk about.
I've been struggling to find the accurate Patrick Mahomes analogy. The one that feels right to me is Michael Jordan as somebody who spend time around the Jazz and the Knicks in the nineties because every time, and look, we could expand it to the Sonics with with Gary Payton and Sean Kemp we could talk about Barkley and the Suns like every time it seemed like there was a team that was ready to beat Mike, they just couldn't get it done unless Michael Jordan was playing baseball instead
of basketball. What's the what's the accurate Patrick Mahomes analogy? Now that you know they're back in the super Bowl once again.
I don't even know, man, that's a the great question.
I think he's becoming into a league of his own, right, you know, the opponents that he has to beat year in and year out, he's young or old, he's taking him on and making it happen, right, and he.
Can appreciate that. I mean, I would have to go.
I don't think he's beat Tom Brady right in the AFC Championship and then in the Super Bowl against the Buccaneers. That may be his only guy that he's you know, lost multiple games to. Two of the three losses in his playoff career on his seven eight year NFL career have been to Tom Brady.
So Tom Brady may be his Achilles heal.
But you know, right now, Pat Mahomes, I think he's just one being under thirty and now going to what.
Is fourth super Bowl, fourth or fifth super Bowl?
This guy is uh, he's he's creating his own class man and it's awesome what he's been able to do. I've said this, I it's hard to you know, aside from you know, the favorable calls, they it's hard to you know, hate what they do. They've gotten to the super Bowl in so many different ways. And that's what great teams do, right, you get there with what you have.
He's got there within.
An epic passing attack where nobody can slow them down in the passing tack. He's gotten there with an amazing running game right where he's had to use his legs or his running backs have been great. He's gotten there with none of his receivers having a passing touchdown all year and just the tight ends. And now he's getting there with beating everybody. And so fifteen to two record on the season, you know, just going through these playoffs, knocking off CJ.
Stroud, knocking off Josh Allen.
He's just putting himself in position just to be in a class of his own man.
So it's pretty it's pretty great to see and witness.
Sly, they've won seventeen straight one score games, Like it's wild to consider how he's grown, because when he burst on the scene, you know, Alex's backup and then he gets the job and he really became uber famous because of his big playability with Tyreek Hill back then and a prime Travis Kelcey, and you know, if you had one of them in fantasy football, you were winning every
week and that was kind of the thing. Now he's grown into this dude that just figures it out as somebody who played you know, pro football on the defensive side, what what what are the biggest challenges that a player who has the athletic ability and has now grown into a cerebral thinker and then that offensive set and you know,
ultimately the execution by their head coach Andy Reid? What are the biggest challenges when it comes to trying to just crall him enough to give your offensive chance to score enough points to beat him.
It's difficult one being and you know, I'm watching these games and.
I'm just like, how do I game plan against that? And you can't? Like.
What I always talk about quarterbacks is their ability to make pre snap reads. And so what I pay attention to the most when I'm watching Kansas City is what is Patrick Mahomes looking at before the snap?
Right?
What is he determining? Is what is he seeing that's gonna determine the play that he runs right from from? You know, every play they have multiple plays called in the huddle, from running play number one or play number two or audibling into a completely different play.
What is he seeing? Man? I love him setting up the protections.
You know, Kansas City uses the odd odd front, the even even front, and that's how they determine who's their mic and and what the defenses is about and how to attack it. But like his ability to be on the same page as his receivers, right, Like that throw he made the Juju smith sus late in the game to give him that thirty yard game.
It was just over the linebacker's head.
But he had to wait right until that window came open, and he knew it was coming open. Even some of the things you see is he's like, it's Cover two is cover two, right, And what's a great thing to run against Cover two? Running the football? Cover two is a six man box and you got six or seven blockers. It's always good to run the ball against that. And so him calling that out pre snap is just awesome.
But yeah, like you said, man, he's had tons of weapons over the years, and just seeing his growth and what he's going to be able to do here in the next couple of years, it's good that he's in the AFC because I think the AFC is just loaded with talent for now and in the future. So but he's definitely getting his now, and you know, he's only a few super bowls away from even getting close to some franchises and even Tom Brady.
Josh Allen's twenty eight years old. The problem is Patrick Mahomes is twenty nine. And you know, I feel about Josh the same way I feel about Lamar, the same way I felt about Aaron Rodgers before he finally got his.
I actually for.
Four or five years watching Aaron Rodgers play quarterback, and like, I've never seen anything like this. He has to get multiple super Bowls, but he only got one and breaking news he's not going to get another.
Yeah, well that won against me. I hate it.
I know, man, I know, I'm sorry sorry to bring it out, but but my point is, like I just think Josh and Lamar I think they're too good. I would be stunned if both of them, quite frankly, finished their pro football careers the way Dan Marino did without a ring. Right, So where are you at today on Josh Allen and the potential of him to finally breaking through at some point.
I mean, he's got he's gotta stay.
He gotta stay, even killed man, you know, these are just tough days right here, and you just kind of understand that, like it does get better, right and and you will. Unfortunately, some of the greats that are compared to have won early, and so you know he's thinking like I haven't got mine, So.
Am I not enough? And so that sucks.
But you know, ultimately, if he can he can keep his mind in it and and make sure that he's competitive each and every year, which I think he does. I think he's winning in other aspects of life, and so it's not gonna seriously hurt him, but like it's fresh straight and not getting to that point.
But he's got to understand, like, look, I got out of.
The season healthy. I can go into next season understanding exactly what I need to do. Right, we got the number two overall overall record and we were second in the AFC. I need to get that number one seat so I can have home field advantage, right, Like I hate going to Kansas City? How do I not go to Kansas City? So they need to do what they need to do and make sure they have the number
one seed. That's first things first. So you just regame plan and retool the next year's but again, like you said, those guys are young, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen. You know now Jalen Hurts is in that mix, and and even CJ. Stroud is coming up, and we now see Jalen Daniels as well.
Like, there is some lot of young talent in here, and and so it's gonna be open market for a lot of guys. He's just got to keep in it and ride his experience.
All Right, you're an NFL general manager. Lamar Jackson and Josh are about twenty eight, and I said, you can have one or the other.
Who do you pick? And why?
Oh gosh, this is a great question. I answered this before the divisional game the Bills and the Ravens. I like Lamar Jackson, Right, And here's the reason why, Welle, Josh Allen's great. The way he delivered the ball last night. I don't put that game on him. I mean, you look at it. They lost by three, They had multiple two point conversion fails. There's just a lot of things in that game that could have went the other way.
And you know, storylines whatever. But like if I were to start a franchise with or say expansive franchise and I could take one of those two guys. I'm taking Lamar Jackson, you know, both of them. It's sad we can't beat Patrick Mahomes and they have loaded all star rosters. But I got Lamar Jackson because if I can get you know, half these guys to to come up and deliver the football the way is because like Lamar Jackson, he's not gonna run as much as his uh as
his career keeps going right. But you take a slow Lamar Jackson versus a stagnant quarterback, I'll take that all day. And Lamar Jackson he doesn't take hits. He's very smart, he gets down. He needs to get better with taking care of the football. Those careless fumbles that we saw in the divisional round, you can't do that, but that's something that can be learned. But the way he delivers the ball, his accuracy, his ability to extend plays and
and and get away from people. I think he's faster than Jayden Daniels and and and that's.
Saying something right.
And so I take you know, Lamar Jackson for his accuracy, efficiency and his ability to to just make offense non are unsoppable, all.
Right, So this Dad continues to blow me away because Josh Allen is four and one in the regular season against Patch Mahomes and the Chiefs, but he's zero to four in the postseason against the very same Chiefs and the very same quarterback and the very same head coach. You're a guy that played regular season football in college and you won a Sugar Bowl against Alabama in College're a guy that played regular season football in the NFL and you had playoff experience as well. What gives man,
what's the difference. What's the difference between being able to be successful against the team in the regular season and just not being able to get anything done as far as beating them and sending them home come playoff time.
Well, I mean it goes to the point of what really matters, right, And so yeah, playoff football matters. Whether you're the succeed or the number one seed, it doesn't matter. You got to get the job done. But for me, you know, I hate that everybody puts it on one person.
Right.
Everybody saw the game. Everybody saw the Eagles and Commander's game too. Jaden Daniels played great. Who would have known there would have been those three timely turnovers.
To just put the commander's back.
Commanders came back after that, sakwon Barkley early touchdown and was in it. It was still good. And you know, it's more than that one person. So Josh Allen met it's hard to put it all on him and his record.
Of course, you're the quarterback.
You get the bear all of the negative as well as the positive.
So you got to do that.
But you know, guys dropping balls, defense, not being able to do their job, and you know, the injuries that the Buffalo had on defense, you know, didn't enable them. Von Miller essentially not as great as he is, as much money as they're paying him, you know, so maybe it's time to move.
On for him from him.
You know, there's other factors in that, right, You got to slow Patrick Mahomes down to give josh Allen an opportunity as well, and that just doesn't happen. So there's a lot of factors that go into making that happen. It's unfortunate that, you know, Josh Allen can't get it done in the playoffs with that, but it's hard to put it all on one person. Just learning and hopefully he can pass on his experiences and his knowledge of these situations to the new guys on the team when it comes up again.
So a couple of local ties here. First of all, your thoughts on that final pass. I don't know how Josh got it off. But our guy Dalton, you know, like, oh man, I'm sure he wants that one back, tough play to make, but you know, if Dalton watches the replay will probably tell you that he should have should have grabbed it. What were your thoughts and what's your take on the day after after watching Dalton drop that pass that really could have changed the entire thing.
Well, I mean I've been there, I've dropped it. I've dropped the ball like that.
It's hard to win the ball being in the air, understanding where it's at because he, you know, Josh Allen, being under duress, he didn't know where that ball was going to land. Is it going to be short, is it going to be long? Judging into the air in real time, understanding the heat of the moment it being forth down, all of that all that comes into play, and so like for me, it's like, I've been there, I know I've misjudged it.
If it was a drop and a different point of.
The game, nobody really even thinks about it.
It sucks.
It sucks in that moment, but you know, this is Dalton's second year. He's only gonna get better. You know, as I said, I've been there, I've dropped the pass. Luckily my teammate you know, picked it off the very next play, so I didn't have to bear that because I was I was, I was eating up about how do I not make that play? But you know, there's so many things that gone on there, so I just
understand it, and it sucks. But at the same time, you look at the game, it's like, damn, do we have to go down to the last play to the game had to be decided by this, right and and so there's a lot of other things right and again we talked about pre snap, you know, judgment there. What was Josh Allen looking at as far as numbers. You bring a guy in motion for what reason? All right, he comes in motion, nobody follows them. You know they're in zone or they're blitzing. As soon as you hike
the ball, you see they're blitzing. You gotta go to your number one blitz the turn. After that, he should have went back to Shakiir, which is what that play design is supposed to do with that most short motion and going back, and so there's just a lot of things, you know, and not letting the game against Patrick maccomes knowing mestatistics of seventeen to o not come down to the final whistle, you know, and that sucks. And so it's a team game. I just don't want it to
ever come down to a single play. But I've been where Dalton's at. He's gonna hang his head and he's only gonna come back better.
So news comes down that Taylor Rap is injured, and so our guy Cole gets the start. Cold Bischop gets his first star with the Bills, and you know, he's saved the touchdown early on with that tackle on Kareem Hunt. He had a couple of rough moments at the end where he got trucked pretty good. I thought he had the pick overall, I thought he I thought he had a pretty solid game. Your thoughts on Cold Bishop the first start of his career in a playoff game against Kansas City bro I.
Couldn't imagine me my rookie year and having to do what he had to do.
I thought he did great.
You know, of course, there's always room for improvement. But one, Cole's a Cole's a student of the game. This dude studies film better than anybody. When I was interviewing a lot of the older guys when Cole was a freshman, that's all they would talk about. And Cole wasn't great his freshman year, right that's when we played Ohio State. He wasn't great in that game. But years after that he got better. And that's what I'm expecting from Cole is He's just going to get better and better. I
think he loves the game. He's an insane talent. He's a guy that's going to put on weight, put on strength. Understand he's going to be a starter for Buffalo going forward. I know they like him over there. He's just a guy that shuts up and just gets gets the work done once he understands the game a little bit more and understands how people play him because the NFL game and college game are very different, you know, as far
as offensive play designs. So if he can understand those differences year two and three, he's going to be outstanding man. So one, this is valuable experience and the key moments in the tight game he played starting safety the entire game. That right there, that experience I wish I could have had, because that's something that you can't ever get back and it's only going.
To propel you forward.
So Cole Bishop did great man, and I just think that that was prime game time experience for him that he's going to be an awesome guy at the future for sure.
All Right, moving over to Eagles commanders, and we'll end with some mutes. Let me start here. You know, as a Jets fan, I always cheer for teams that have been down for a while, and the Dan Snyder years were certainly dark for Washington football fans. Your takeaway from year one with Jayden Daniels under center for Washington and what you think that franchise is in for for the next decade or so?
Oh man, they're setting up.
They need to buy all of the Jaden Daniels kool aid they can, right, like.
This is this is the guy, man. And when you look at your pre.
Draft and analysis, you got to look at what am I looking at? Why what's so different between Jaden Daniels and Caleb Williams, Right? Is it the offensive coordinator. Can you really say it's the system.
I don't.
I think Jaden Daniels is just a great talent though his ability to throw a really good ball extend the play but understand what it is, and his humble approach to the game. I think that you know, he won respects his opponent, so he takes them seriously. But he's also got a swagger that he's ultra confident that he's
able to get things done. So the NFL better watch out, not just the NFC or NFC, he's the NFL better watch out for this guy, because one, having a loss in the NFC Championship in his rookie year is only gonna make him hungrier. Hopefully he can get a stable offensive coordinator or offense that you know will be with him, you know, you know, for a good amount of years to where he can ultimately become you know, Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes and control the offense. But I think
this guy is the he's the future. You know, this league human ces Stroud. We're gonna see them both in the playoffs, you know, and I can't wait to see that. It's gonna be awesome matchup. But you know, Jayden Daniels is he's awesome.
He got that.
He got that team together, and that was the missing link. I saw it last year. I was like, they got a team, they just need a quarterback. You get Jade and Daniels in there with with proper teaching, with a good coach, and Ron Rivera out of there, and dan Quinn in there. Who's the players guy? Like like when I'm forgetting with the receiver that fumbled or early in the.
Game, how dan Quinn?
How dan Quinn goes up to the guys after they make mistakes, It's like, look, we're still need you, Like, game ain't over. It was a mistake, We're good, but keep your head up, keep in it. And then after that that player played great, right, And that's something Ron Rivera would never do.
Ron Rivera didn't have.
That type of rapport with players and and and so you know, it's it's all about the right situation, the right fit. And I think Jaden Daniels going into that with Cliff Kingsbury and bj over there at Washington was just just the perfect perfect time.
Have you and for our listeners who don't know Brian Johnson, former youth quarterback, you legend is the assistant head coach and passing game coordinator in Washington.
Have you talked to BJ about Jayden?
I'd be really curious about, you know, for a guy that has that type of football documen, his take on this quarterback that he's working with.
Now, I haven't. I actually haven't.
In the times that I've talked to BJ, I haven't talked about Jayden at all.
I just know that Jaden is BJ type of player, right.
Jaden is like BJ when BJ was was coming out of high school and what everybody was talking about BJ here at Utah. That's Jade and Daniels, right, and jad and Daniels to even have an opportunity he was supposed to come to Utah, right, There's just so much semblance in there with him, and and you know, when you listening to interviews with Jaden, you just understand he's got his head on the shoulders and he he listens, right, He respects, you know, people and let them they know
what they're doing. And I think that if you give guys like Cliff Kingsbury and BJ an opportunity to teach you to to really invest in you, you're only going to have success. So I think that you know Jaden's humbleness going into it. I don't even need to talk to BJ. I know exactly what he's gonna say. It is like that kid's the future. He's great, and so hopefully, you know, this offseason he just gets better and better
understands exactly what's out. You know that that rookie year is really hard, right, you know, from you know, finishing college, getting the Heisman, doing Senior Bowl, combine, Pro days, all these interviews, going to the draft, going to mini camps. It's that process is crazy. So going into the next year, you don't have to do none of that, right you don't. I mean you go up to OTA's mini camps. That's all you have to do during the off season instead
of all that other stuff. So hopefully year two for Jayden Daniels will be even better because he's getting rest right and so just an amazing future ahead of that.
Dude.
I haven't talked to BJ yet, but hopefully I can talk to BJ here the next couple of months about his first year.
We watched him all.
Right, before we get over to some Utah football news that just broke, give me your early take. We got two weeks, So of course we're going to talk about it every day. Kansas City one point five point favorite, that's the opening line.
What do you think happens in the Super Bowl? Slide?
And looking at it, right, I've always said that I'm a guy of matchups. I think Philadelphia's offense, man, it's just amazing.
But right, what Steve Spagnola does in the Kansas.
City defense, I think it's his game planning ability that just sets him apart. Right, and then you got McDuffie at the cornerback position at a lineup over you know, AJ Brown or Davonte Smith and and essentially I think that's that's an eliminating factor, you know, but you know that you do have all of the other weapons and Goddard and and Devonte Smith, and so you can do that. And then of course Jaylen Hurts his ability to do
things with his legs. And you know, we saw what Jaden Jalen Hurts did in the Super Bowl a couple of years ago. He put on the m v P performance in a losing effort, and so if he can do that here in this game, you know, I think they might have an advantage here. But you know, for me. It's the defenses, right, and I think that Philadelphia's secondary is too young to keep up with Kansas City's uh uh experienced offense.
Right. You got one of the best to ever do it in Patrick Mahomes.
Who's only seven years in and considered the best to ever do it.
It's insane.
So he's young, considered the best he's ever do it, and he's got weapons across the board, from from Hopkins to you know, Juju Smith Schuster, who's guys got rapport with him, to you know, the the rookie out of Texas, Travis Kelce, Noah Gray at tight end, the multiple running backs in Kareem Hunt and and Isaiah Pacheco. Like, uh, just Patrick Mahomes's ability to matter who's around him to do things. I think that secondary and what we talked
about in the last evement about pre snap readability. I gotta give the edge to Kansas City here, and so I favor that line. It's going to be a great game. Matchups are there as far as personnel goes, but yeah, man, I gotta give them me. I gotta give the Edgekinas City.
All right, Little Utah football news, it's not good news on a Monday, but they're gonna lose another cornerback, Keenan Johnson, who had season ending knee surgery. Excuse me, he had a season ending knee injury, so I don't know if he was going to be ready to go anyway. But nonetheless, it hurts when you look at you know, just kind of the too deep and where people align. My guess
is he would have started. He was a Georgia Tech transfer to Utah and then about an hour and a half agoing now so that he's leaving the program.
So what what's your reaction to this?
I mean, it is what it is.
I mean, you Todd did right by you, but you know you I feel like you want to go somewhere else. That's that's what's crazy, is yeah. I mean, same thing with this Anthony Woods guy, right the running back. We got him from Idaho, we got him while he was injured, we rehabbed him, and now he got a free year and he entered the portal. So I'm just like it sucks because what's gonna happen here is you're gonna get a doggy dog world coming up.
Right.
You're gonna give these universities the ability to treat you like employees.
And when you don't do right, you're out right.
There's no you owe me, I owe you, there's no loyalty with all this stuff. It's like, look, this is what the game is. Let's do it right. You know, these guys make all kinds of money, money that you know, normal people spend four or five years can make these guys make in six months and they don't even play, and so like it's it's crazy. I know he's got injured at the beginning of the season, but you know if you felt in his heart that you know, I had to get out and make that happen. Or you know,
of course, everybody always talks about all of this. You know, what do you call it when somebody is trying to steal you from another program?
Everybody?
Yeah, everybody's talking about poaching and all this other stuff. And so it's real. That stuff is real. You jump into portal. So I mean, for me, I always wait and see, like how fast does he commit to another university?
Right?
Like how fast did you know ton of Boss I commit to b YU, Right? How fast did some of these other guys commit to some of these other places?
And I'm just like Ken and Johnson.
Like it was a rough year, you know, last year, but you know it was your first year in the program. So there's not a lot of guys who have invested in the program over the years, and so best of luck to him wherever he goes. But you know, I think the mantra with Utah this next year would be like, if you don't want to be here to it's fine, We're gonna win with the guys that are here. And so we didn't get to see a lot out of Kennon, so it's hard to say like we're gonna miss you.
But you know, other than.
The coaches saying Kennon was great, you know Kennon, the coaches also said that a lot of other positions were great they didn't pan out last year as well. So but on tape, we didn't get to see much from this guy. And I you know, wish him success, but you don't want to be here, don't don't be here, as simple as that.
Fair enough, Slyve, Thanks for the time, man, have a great weekend. We'll chat soon, all right, brother, we'll talk to you soon. I had the great Stevenson Sylvester