The MMQB NFL PodcastConor Orr and Albert Breer discuss Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper throwing a drink on an opposing team's fan on Sunday and how the league should handle it. We also break down how Lamar Jackson locked in his second MVP award with a dominant win over the Dolphins, the controversial call at that marred the end of Lions vs. Cowboys, the surprising play of unsung quarterbacks recently, and the rest of the week 17 slate
And bo and welcome to the Mmqbut Albert, what is that a drink in your hand? Put that down, don't throw that at me? Just kidding, codder Ore here, Albert Breer, here, it is the Tuesday.
There, all right, off to dam.
Oh baby, yeah, this one's.
Ready to roll on that one. I'm ready to Oh my.
God, all right, so we are. So we're recording this on Tuesday morning. I hope everybody had a happy new Year. I know Albert's thrilled that Michigan is in the National Championship Game.
I will make I bet I was lowered to being an Alabama fan for a few weeks and then.
How did that feel?
Weird? And like, my buddy, who you know what, my fraternity brothers happens to live down the street from me, So we watched the game together. He bought Alabama hoodies and Alabama jerseys for us. And so like yesterday, I was in the supermarket picking up some snacks for the game or whatever, and uh, I got like a roll tide from someone in the supermarket and I responded, I responded, roll tide And it felt dirty, like I'm not even like for all the like kind of like stuff that I've said the last few weeks about it, Like when someone said roll tied to me and I responded, rolltide, it definitely felt dirty. So now I guess I got to learn, Like what I think it's bow down? Right? Is that what Washington is something like that down? I think it's bow down. Yeah for uh, you know the play on the Huskies and dogs whatever. But yeah, oh okay, yeah, bow down, I think is what they say.
Being a post Saban Alabama fan just feels like you are incapable of experiencing any pain and you just want to cut right to the front of the line. Like I I went to school with someone who I know for a fact had nothing to do with Alabama, and now like you see pictures of their it's all decked out in Alabama gear and like they're going to the SEC title game, And I was like, where does this come from? You from Pennsylvania. I'm from Pennsylvania.
Like there are terms for those in the Midwest, you know, So in so In Ohio they call them Big Bear buck Eyes, right, because Big Bear is a is a supermarket chain there and they've got like the off brand Ohio state stuff for sale there. So they call those big bear buck Eyes. And I know in Michigan, the people who didn't go to school there who root for Michigan, they call them Walmart Wolverines. So big Bear buck Eyes and Walmart Wolverines.
But what is it called when you're from Pennsylvania and you're obsessed with Alabama like I and it's just it has like you've no school, You've never been to the South, you know, I don't know any I.
Mean does that does that person also root for like the Yankees and the Cowboys.
And the probably you know, like, how is that? How is that an enjoyable? How is that an enjoyable thing? Like you check in at the bar, you know, with your on jersey right after the with the Lakers, and it's just like, oh yeah, I'm totally in on this, like people weren't a Laker jack.
It's also like just from a fans standpoint, it's like the emotional investment, you know what I mean, Like I legitimately felt yesterday like I was watching an Ohio State game because the rivalry is that important to me, you know, And if you're not, like if you don't have that level of investment in it, I don't know I mean, like I watch, so I've got, I guess, a unique experience because for my job, I watched things like in a totally non biased like just fifty thousand foot view or whatever. And then the college games, I'm like really emotional and into and all that, like in a different way, you know. And uh, I just don't know how you'd It feels like you'd halfway that if you were just kind of like cherry picking teams, right.
Yeah, like what's the point of watching? I mean I kind of get my itch scratch now because you know, fantasy football in a way, right, And so I feel momentarily invested in a handful of players. But back when I used to be obsessed with Notre Dame as a kid, there was that energy. And yeah, if you just decide one day that you're an Alabama fan because they've won nine national championships in a row, like it can't be funny for you.
I think a huge part of being a fan is that sky is falling thing. Yeah, I think we all have that, and every fan base thinks that's unique to them, you know what I mean, Like every single fan base thinks like the something bad's about to happen, to us. Feeling that you get watching games is like unique to them, But I think everybody's got it, you know, like even an Alabama fan, right like so Ohio State, we had a lot of good things happened to us over the last twenty years, but I was in school during like the Cooper years, you know what I mean, when bad things did happen, and so like, I think every fan base has that. Like an Alabama fan, like the person who is rooted for them for forty years had some like really legitimately like lean years before Saban, so they probably have that, right that fan doesn't have that sky as falling like like thing. That is like such a huge part of being a fan, you know.
And it's gotta like, I'm sorry, it's gotta suck to be an Alabama fan, whether you've been an Alabama fan for forty years or for nine months like some of my friends on Instagram apparently. But you know, now the entire fan base is so spoiled and so like petulant now that this seems like a disappointment to lose in the semi finals to Michigan.
You know, I resemble that remark because I know that feeling too. Like not to the degree they do, but the one thing that's sucked that's been taught, like and this is like a champagne problem. But one thing that's tough about being an Ohio State fan is like one one loss like ruins your season, Like so you can't have a successful season, like if you lose a game, you know, like this is a this is a terrible season for for for me. They were eleven or oh like a month and a half ago, like you know, like it's just it's it is what it is. And that's sort of the make up of college football though too, you know, which might change now because it's gonna be a lot easier to get in the playoff.
I'm with Debo Swiney, like he like unleashed on someone who called into his radio show and he's like what is wrong with you? Like I've won, I've won a national championship at Clemson, like have you seen this place? And then like you know, okay, I went like nine and three this year, Like go to hell, you're complaining.
But do you follow a message board geniuses on Twitter?
No?
I need to, though it is the best I mean, it is legitimately the best account I mean, it is so good, Like the best stuff is like the end game tweeting when when like everyone's getting fired in the second quarter of a game on a message board, you know, but it's uh anybody who doesn't know. I believe it's at board geniuses. But it's fantastic.
There was the guy who famously at Alabama was so excited when the team got too a tongue of Iloa, but wondered if there was anyone on the staff that would be able to speak his language. And Tua is from Hawaii, so I think he thought that Hawaii spoke just like just like there was no English in Hawaii.
We have somebody, didn't We have somebody recently talk about like the language barrier in the UK. I think.
I'm God bless us all.
I thought we had somebody recently bring up the language barrier in the UK, which is always a fun one.
Good Lord. So yeah, I mean, my only note on Alabama Michigan was I really do think like if the Connor Stallions thing came out today and you played the final drive for Alabama, the final play call, I don't know if it was bad or not. The snap was bad on Alabama's final play, but there was like a plague two or three plays before that where they jump off on the Michigan d Lineman got and was in the backfield. Like if the Connor Stallions thing came out tomorrow, I'd be like, Okay, that guy knew. That guy's either really good or he knew exactly what was coming, you know, which was kind of funny.
I think Connor Stallions. There are rumors that Connor Stallions was there. Either that or Chase Wenovich's is trolling everybody because I think on his Instagram there was a picture where he tagged Connor Stallions and the guy pictured like sitting next to him in the stands sort of look like him. So, oh my god, which would be a great lighter at all of this too.
Hire Connor Stallions talk about the NFL head coaching care so that guy's got a manifesto, he's got passion.
My favorite thing about that story though, is it just tears down like that higher ground, Like now, maybe they get a championship out of it, we'll see, and then they can put the banner where they can where they wherever they keep those like Final four banners from the Fab five. But but yeah, like I think that was my favorite. My favorite thing has been like that moral high ground that they've occupied forever, which was the reason why they weren't winning in a lot of years, now doesn't exist anymore. So that from this year, like.
You got a cheat. Well, okay, there's no clean transition here, but I'm just gonna start by saying, yeah, I mean he's going to have to cheat to get a head coach. I will say this so I I I didn't talk too many people about this around the league, but I think that the feedback that I got today, you know, yesterday it was just like did you see that?
You know?
And and it's one of those things where it's like, Okay, he's still gonna get somebody good because he's gonna pay for it. And there's thirty two of these jobs and this offseason there's only Yeah, there's gonna be like four openings.
You know. It sounds like the numbers. It just feels like the numbers dwindling again. You know.
Yeah, the Saints I think are gonna hold on to Dennis Allen, The Falcons are going to hold on to Art Smith and so and the Raiders might hold on Antonio Pierce if he has a good last week, you know, so anyway, you know, he's gonna get somebody good and in three months we're gonna talk be you know, we're gonna move on from it, because the cycle moves on from it. But you know, for those who didn't see, at the end of this blowout loss to the Jaguars, he essential Tepper looks like he has like cleared his plastic cup on a Jaguars fan who was kind of in the uh there was an open air uh sueet kind of situation.
Looks like it was one of those of the windows that you can open right like where you just.
He made the mistake of having the window open. But it's so funny because I've read a couple of situations where fans who throw drinks onto players. Every time that has happened in the last five years, those fans have been banned for life from the stadium. If the Jaguar should be as they should be, and if the Jaguars were really funny, they would ban David Tepper for life from EverBank or whatever you.
Like, said that anywhere publicly.
That would that be funny, That would be so funny if they.
Just issued randomly like just issued a pressure like they put after a thorough investigation, we found who did this, and and then.
They put like just his picture on like a bunch of wanted posters outside the stadium, and it's like, caution, do not let this man it. But so what I wrote and what I do feel is true is I do think we're at sort of a tipping point with the power balance in the NFL. I think the owners have left this thing on autopilot for long enough where the officiating is in a crisis level, like the league is not in a good place. I don't think it's a healthy atmosphere. And so you get to this point where here's an owner, here's the symbol of power in the NFL, just just tossing a drink at somebody like a medieval king. And then all of a sudden, you know, the NFL is just not going to comment on it for four days. Like we're at Tuesday at twelve oh nine as we're taping this, the Carolina Panthers have not said anything. The NFL has only said they're aware of the video, and you know that they're working with Tepper in the background to be like, Okay, how much can you afford.
Let's just know, I think at this point, I mean, don't you think at this point we can we can safely assume that at this point we can safely assume the tepper doesn't want to say anything, because if he did, he would have.
Well, if he wanted to defend himself if he had, you know. And again, I'll let me backtrack and say, I'm sure this guy was not just like being like, hey, David, you're the best, you know, and then David just threw a drink at him. It was probably profane, you know, it was probably you know, let's put both of these guys in a parking lot and make one of them not the owner of the Panthers. Okay, you have a fight, all right, I get it, it's totally I've been to NFL games, I've sat in the stands before. I understand what that sounds like. But if you're the owner of an NFL team, forget about the example that it sets for the rest of your employees. But like the NFL needs to do something to him, they cannot not like I mean, but I think it has to be beyond a fine, I really do.
Like I I just here's the thing. Like they now have a history of not doing anything right, right, Like they did something with Ersa, right, But did they do anything with Craft No? No, did they do anything with Haslam for the you know, rebate scandal.
No, I mean it has something. It's still happening.
Yeah, I mean, it's just like you look at it and it's like I remember all those years ago they told us like owners will be held to a higher standard. I mean they needed to be dragged through the mud from a pr standpoint to do anything about Daniel Snyder, right, And I just think like it's I think it's the ultimate example of there's difference between owners and renters, right, all of us who don't run our own business, we're renters, you know, and the owners make the rules. And it's like it kind of makes me think back to I don't know if you if you heard the text Shram story before.
I don't know.
So he's the old cowboys oone yeah, right, And I think this was like during one of the strikes, like maybe like the eighty two strike or whatever. But the old story goes that you know, they're in a like the some NFL people are in a a in a negotiating meet and negotiation with the NFLPA, and there's meeting that gets heated and Textram, who's the president of the Cowboys, I believe at the time, basically says something along the lines of you boys don't understand you're the cattle and we're the ranchers. And I mean, he imagine if somebody said that to like now and it got out.
What the McNair from the Titans like.
Two years ago, right like, and be like as a window into the way they think, you know what I mean. And I just our producer Shelby might be correcting me on this that he said to something like that to dor Set. It was it was something around one of these situations, and it's like they give us these little windows into the way they think, right, And you know, part of it is like you know, my house, my rules, right, and so you know, like I I don't know if we can expect more from David Tepper than what we've gotten. And you know, like to me, like, there are two things here that I think are really kind of I would say, make it worse. Right. Number One, he's not saying anything, and if he doesn't say anything by tomorrow, then he's going to leave his locker room, which is going through a really tough year, and his coaching staff, which is led by an interim coach at this point, to answer for his actions. Like how crappy is that? Right? You're just hiding and you're not letting you're you did something. You did something that wasn't like really there wasn't a wasn't there really wasn't, you know, like necessary. You can say it was prompted, but you know you have to if you're an NFL owner, you've got to be able to be above that. And now you're leaving your employees to answer for it, right. So that's the first thing. And then the second thing is like it basically touches every base as far is like who this guy's been made out to be over the last few years, right yeah, power, hungry, aggressive, angry, like all of that stuff right overbearing. Like if you had a caricature of David Tepper based on how he's been as an NFL owner over the last six seasons, it's a guy who would throw a drink out of a suite, right like. And so that's the other part that's tough for him. It is like he basically more or less confirmed, like what everyone thinks of him by throwing that drink.
I think the easy fix here would have been without question. You you know, because the game's over, there's like two minutes left, Okay. By the time all the reporters and everybody get to the locker room, everyone knows that this has happened. It's on social media. You know you did it. Why not just pull a Jerry Jones and be standing outside the locker room because your players don't want to talk anyway after and their doors blown off, stand out there and just be like, hey, guys, I did this, no excuse. You know, I'm gonna try to find who he is and we're gonna go we're gonna go hash this out. You know, my bad. But it just like it's such an NFL thing to allow this to compound and then make this into like a four day story. And I honestly just I.
Think it's like the whole plan too, is probably just to let the next shiny object appear, right and then blind everybody to the fact that he still hasn't said anything.
My take though, is like, and I get the Jerry Jones philosophy right, that there's no publicity that's bad publicity. But we are at such a point, like I mean, we had a security guard on the field, like, you know, shoving someone this year. Like we are so close to world wrestling entertainment, you know, in this supposedly serious sports thing, and it's like I would like it if somebody acted like an adult and stopped capitalizing on the fun publicity like cause I'm sure I'm sure the NFL is like, oh, this is great. Everyone's talking about it. It's fun. You know, we're dominating the conversation again. But like we've at some point we stop. We don't dominate the conversation the NFL for anything good anymore. It's the fights.
You've seen the fights in the stands, right, Yeah, Like I have a theory about that that maybe plays into this a little bit. Is because of the way tickets are now and because the at home product is better, I think you have less people in the stadium that are there for like all eight or nine home games, right, Like I think it's a fair fair assumption, right, Like I have friends who have season tickets who sell a bunch of their tickets to pay for the tickets they're getting. I think that is like in part of a function of how much a cost to go to a game. Now, yeah, like that, a lot of people are like I only want to go to one or two games, all right. Now, Like let's say you're one of these people it's only going to one game, Well, then that's your big day. Sure, and maybe you're just getting lit up in the parking lot, right and you don't have to worry about your season ticket gaging take away because you don't have one, right, So, you know, I think it's like a number of these things kind of like there's it is like I think it is a little bit of like a toxic environment in some of in some of these stadiums.
Now, you know, every I mean walk around the concourse of a game. I mean granted most of the games I go to a Jets and Giants games, and they're a unique group of folks, but you know it's not unique to just there. I mean, my god, you know, but anyway that goes, it's.
A long way of going way.
Yeah that I I mean I wrote that. I don't think they're gonna really do anything. I wish they would. You know, maybe it's like all the other owners saying, hey, new guy, like here's your little slap on the wrist. Let's stop doing that. But like, god, why won't like the fact that none of these people will just confront a problem.
This is pretty cut and dry though, Like this.
Isn't something you have to do video, which is tough.
Yeah, I mean this is like if you're gonna if they were, if if was gonna respond, wouldn't you have done it already?
You know, I'd hate to be.
And again, like this shuld piss off the other owners. It should shouldn't it, But it just like because this is like I mean, like they already think we're all super villains and now here you are from like an air conditioned suite.
Doing the most supervillain thing ever, which is tossing a drink in someone's face while and I'm not sure what the setup was in the suite, but like he's had to have security in there, right right?
Oh yeah, of course.
So if that guy get and he did stand up, like I think whoever got the drink spilled on him did stand up and then put like you know, like the armed services are just gonna swoop down and disappear that guy, you.
Know, yeah, and look like again like it plays into all the things that have made him a bad owner objectively over his first six years in the week, this is an amazing thing that I looked up when they fired, right, do you know, like this next game is going to be his ninety ninth game as the owner, Right, So ninety nine games is the owner. Twenty two of those games have been presided over by an interim coach. Isn't that crazy? And you're not even it's like more than one in five of the game since he became the owner six years ago. At that an interim coach running it.
The MLS team is bad too, I think.
Aren't they on their third coach in three years.
Or something something like that? All right, so whatever, But at.
Least he put turf down in the stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Yeah, good for him. So the Panthers lose.
Twenty some sort of some sort of sculpture in South Carolina.
We all love a good sculpture. The big game to me, I mean, at least the statement game to me was the Ravens just laying one on the Dolphins. And what's wild if you go back, it was fifty six nineteen. If you go back to the like there was like a minute forty left in the first quarter and the Ravens were down ten to seven. Yep, And like you have Bradley Chubb like chasing down Lamar Jackson on a third and twenty five enforcing a punt, and then you blink and it's fifty six to nineteen and Lamar Jackson scored five touchdowns this team. This is the difference I feel like between old Ravens and New Ravens is that they can get up on you in a hurry, and they now the defense is not a feature but more of a preventative measure for a team coming back, and I think that makes them so much more dangerous.
I think they we talked about this last week. I believe that they play a different style of football than everybody else, and they're able to take people out of their comfort zone a little bit. And yeah, I don't want to make the the why Patrick Queen put it to me when I talked to him after they beat the Niners last week, was we play that we play a kind of football that no one wants to play anymore. And there's still that service academy like thing to them, the option offense thing to them. Where it's like they're difficult to deal with because they're doing different things than everybody else. But it's more than just that now, right, like they and like I think on both sides of the ball, they were able to establish is like we're really hard to play against things with Greg Roman and Wink Martindale and now Todd Munkin and Mike McDonald come in as their replacements, and they evolved that, you know, and it's to me, like I I could almost I could almost look at this and say they have the four most impressive wins of the season, just based on the way it happened, the way the way the way these wins happened, right their wins over the Seahawks, Lions, Niners, and Dolphins, because those are four good teams, they completely took those teams out of games, you know, like to the point where in the fourth quarter it was like you know, in an early season college football game against a MAX school, you know, like it was just it's it's really really impressive. And I think a big part of it is like just what I was talking about there, which is like they've got an ability to take these other teams to a really uncomfortable placed they don't want to go right, and it's that place where they're able to take these games, which maybe is where games were twenty or thirty years ago, but they aren't there now where those other teams just seem to fold. And it'll be interesting to see if that translates to the playoffs.
The Ravens were private previously the preseason champions, they are now the regular season champions. We'll see if they can progress now to postseason champions under John Harbaugh. But you had written Lamar Jackson MVP. I'm totally on board with that. I mean, at this point, nothing else makes sense.
It's pretty easy.
Yeah, I think this is fairly cut and dry. It would have been a good season to get into some fun, legitimate arguments, but five total touchdowns from Jackson on Sunday puts his numbers as such where it's pretty hard to argue against Hugh who has been the best player in the NFL this and.
I think like one of the things that's really interesting about him is if you go back, if you look at it, he's got career lows and yards per carry and rushing yards per game and what you want. I think that says exactly yeah, exactly what exactly where he is talk It says exactly where he is as a player, which is like you still have to defend all of it. You still have to worry about it, but they don't need to rely on it anymore, you know. And I thought what was so impressive about the way he played on Sunday, Like, look who the touchdown passes were going to. It was Odell who he checked to. A he checked to a different route for Odell throws it to him. That's the guy he's played with for sixteen games, right, Zay Flowers, same thing. He's able to kind of recognize the coverage and get the ball there really quick. Save Flower is another new guy, a rookie. And then there was the touchdown pass on fourth and seven Isaiah Likely, who is in his second year, but it's in a much bigger role now like with Mark Andrews down. I think that's the other thing that's so impressive about it is just like you got all these guys who are new, who like he's the one now assimilating all of them into what they're doing. I just's he's so impressive, you know. And his evolution has been really impressive too. And you know, it's scary to think that he could be he could wind up getting even better than that than than than he is right now, because he's really damn good.
Yeah, tough for the Dolphins to lose Bradley Chubb, but also I think just to get thumped prior to having to play the Bills for the chance to win the division or to go on the road, you know, I think that's like, that's the hardest thing. And Mike McDaniel has been big on like let's own the bad, and I think this is probably his most difficult challenge as a head coach is going to be to get this team to lick their wounds, understand that they're not going to have their best pass rusher in a game against the Bills where you're absolutely gonna need it. The Bills aren't on fire, They're beating bad teams.
In the We've struggled the last couple of weeks with the Patriots and Chargers, who aren't good.
Right, and so you know, this isn't an impossible situation, but it is. It is a tough one for Miami, and I just I don't think, I don't think they're built to be like Road dogs, you know what I mean. I think Miami it's perfectly suited for them to host a couple of games in warm weather where they can run over people, especially from the Northeast. They kind of travel down there. They're gonna be hot, they're gonna be exhausted. But you know, I mean we saw them, you know, I mean it was Skyler Thompson. But going on the road last year to Buffalo, it you know, I don't know, it just doesn't look right to me.
I think it's like this Buffalo Miami game is really gonna and this sounds like cliche, but like it'll be a line of scrimmage game in that Like I think you look at the Bradley Chubb loss, it compounds the fact that you've already lost Jalen Phillips, so you're you've really got issues on the edges, and the formula to beating Josh Allen has been to create chaos for him right right, and to like force him to put the Superman KP on. Well, without your two premiere edge defenders, that's gonna be a lot harder to do. And then on the other side of the ball, like I think an underrated thing about the way Buffalo has come on at the end of the year is how well their defensive line is played, yep. And what they're getting out of at Oliver now, who is massive the last couple of weeks and now they're getting Daiquon Jones back and Greg Russeau has been pretty good. Can Miami handle Buffalo's front? You know? So I think those are the things to watch here, and I do think that that's where you really feel the chub absence, is what it's going to mean for you upfront and your ability to create chaos for Josh Allen out there.
The other big one from this weekend was Saturday, the Cowboys twenty the Lions nineteen. You know, Dallas to me just seems to be you know, I have the Lions way above Dallas in my power rankings this week still. I mean it's like three to six or four to six or whatever it is. But they won that game, and to me, it's frustrating because I don't see I saw the video of all the Lions players talking to the official beforehand, and either the officials busy and he's not listening and that's a problem, or he blew it, or the lines are just fibbing about the fact that they were boarded, you know, but they cannot have this continue to happen. And I'm putting Cadarius Tony in another bucket. That was Kadarius Tony's fault.
No, that was that was That's not an officiating problem.
This is an officiating problem.
This is an officiating problem. This is like, look like I think it's I think it's like multi layer because you know, obviously what Detroit was doing is they're trying to create deception and they sent three linemen. Three linemen left the huddle to go over to the reft, right Like, so it's it's Dan Skipper, who had been their goal line tight end in certain spots. I think Pinay Sul who they've thrown the ball to before, right like, they've thrown him the ball before, and then Taylor Decker, So like you're basically getting them to guess who's going to get the ball, and they were planning to throw it to the guy who, at least on paper, looked like the least likely guy to get the ball.
You think that's the play that Ben Johnson was talking to the official about. By the way, before the season, I don't know if for those of the listeners who don't know. Ben Johnson said he got an idea from for a play from an official during a joint preseason practice, and I wonder if that was it.
Maybe it was it. That's a good call, Like, that's a great callback.
Because you know, but if you hear the so the radio broadcast, the officiating audio is very clear and they say that it wasn't Decker. It was yeah, yeah, it was not Decker. Yeah, skip skipper yeah, And so.
About that. Here's the thing about that, though, like so very clearly, like sending three guys over, there is a create deception, right like and like so like the cowboys can't quickly say, okay, like watch fifty eight, I think is Decker or whatever. No, that's Suel. Sue's Decker sixty eight, Decker sixty eight, right. So like there it's very clearly like to create deception. The problem is like so and you could say, like the official screwed up and the cowboys got lucky. The problem is the officials screwed the cowboys too, right, you know, because it's not the cowboys fault. The official got it wrong wrong, right, And maybe if the official had announced it correctly, they would have covered Decker. But like you're sitting there if you're Dallas, and you're like, okay, they announced seventy is eligible. The other thing that some people missed about this was the Detroit let the playcock run too. So I'm assuming I'm assuming that's designed to give Dallas less time to react, right right, you know, like, so you've got all these elements like that that are part of it, and then the official announces the wrong number, and you know, the wrong number is announced. That's not fair to Dallas either, right, Like so, I mean, at the very least you would think in this scenario, it's would this be like a I don't know, would you say they should just play the down over?
Play the downover? Because you've screwed it up so badly now that you're right, if you've misannounced the reporting and you have, so you've screwed Dallas. Now, if Dallas doesn't cover Decker, McCarthy's gonna run out on the field and be like, what the hell you guys told us he wasn't you know, eligible? And so the officials probably in that, you know, and this is what they've done a couple of times this year Albert where they have not had to make a call based on what they're seeing on the field. They have to make a decision based on prior bad decisions. That makes the most sense, right, and the most sense would be just to flag it and be like, oh, I didn't hear them. You know that they have to save their own you know what, and my my fix here and I guess it's so.
But that's that's like another example, how tangled up this all it is?
It's it's so what they need to do and what they won't do. I mean, sky judge is obvious. You have someone in there, you know, because they have they could have someone that's privy to the audio and be like, hey, you know what, it's really loud, Like wouldn't we understand that as a fan if it's just like, hey, you know what, it's really loud. There's three giant humans in this official's face. He's trying to do some other stuff. He missed it. We heard the audio. Let's just replay the down and Detroit would still have a legitimate grip because it's a surprise play and you can't just run it again. Here's another tackle. Eligible don't cover him, but you know, you would at least have some measure in place. And I do think that what the NFL is missing. And I've seen this written elsewhere too, and I do think it's a good point. Is like, at least when we had Dean Blend, you know, we had someone to point to and be like, this is your fault, like you need to fix this, and Dean would come And even when Al Riveron was there, is Al river On still there. He's not still the head of officiating, but he used to do the show on NFL Network, like on Tuesdays, and he would come in and he would account for all the bad calls. Now there's no accountability. And I will say this like I'm not there, but ninety percent of my friends on Instagram who know what I'm doing for a living send me these like deep state NFL conspiracy theory account posts and like they all one hundred percent believe that the officiating is a tool now to benefit them or to aid in the process of success or failure with gambling companies.
And it's like, I mean, I don't say generate ratings.
Generating well, yeah, that's even worse, but like I don't believe that.
However, no a lot of people do the doors open the doors so much stuff.
You need to have.
Someone out there that's just going to be like, hey, all right, this will that's the problem, but they.
Don't mean like I think it even goes down to like I mean, the players and the coaches not trusting, right, like if you're if you're a player or a coach, and like every week, like whatever you do, you've got to stand up there and answer questions from thirty media people on it, right, Like every single time you've got to answer the questions and stand in there and take the heat for whatever happened on Sunday. And then the official messes something up monumentally and like it's a is a twenty second conversation with a pool reporter, Like is that equitable?
It's not at all.
So I mean it's just the Yeah, I mean, I think the accountability is a huge issue. And look like it's public trust right like, and the public's trust of the games are on the level is everything, And I know it feels to me like the NFL has gotten a little bit away from that, especially like when you know, like you start to get in bed with gambling companies and everything else, like then it becomes not about that, Like that was the whole reason why. That's the whole reason why the NFL said it wasn't doing business, wasn't going to do business with the gambling companies ten years ago, Right, it wasn't because the lot was like because of the integrity of the game and the public trust is so important, and we have to make sure that everybody knows the games are on the level, Like that's the basis of the sport. If you can't trust what you're looking at it professional wrestling, right it is, So you know, like that, I think that that part of it became less important as you've injected gambling into everything. And so now it's like, well, do we really care about that or do we want the officials just to kind of do their job and go on their merry way, and you know, like, yes, maybe it's a story for a day or two, but that's it. Like, I don't know, it feels like they're okay with it, you know.
And it's been so constant, it's been so constant conversy every week.
It feels like unless unless something affects the rating, they ain't gonna do shit about it. Yeah, And I hate to put it that way, that bluntly, but it's like this, like it's the ethos of the owners now unless something affects the bottom line negatively, like they're gonna just pr the thing, lawyer the thing, whatever they need to do, right, But it's just and it's it really hurts the product. But as long as the ratings keep rolling, I don't think they care.
Probably not. And in this it happens in the super Bowl, which I hope it does, just because you know, at some point it was that's the only way this gets fixed.
That, you know what? It was funny because I was, you know, I was watching the game last night and the Michigan Alabama game, and somebody with the team texted me, are you aware of the new overtime rules in college how they go to two they go to two point conversions and a third Oh?
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
So somebody texted me and said, I like, somebody with a team texted me and just said, I'm rooting for I'm rooting for this game to go to a third overtime just so I can watch the worldnelt down. When they've got to decide who's going to play in a national Championship game on two point conversions. But there's like some truth to that idea, isn't there. Like you make these big decisions, but no one really cares until until it happens. Smacked in the face with it, right.
Yeah, for sure. But anyway, the refs are gonna, you know, they'll they'll controversially call certain calls to make sure that other big calls aren't going to decide the Super Bowl.
The fix is in.
I'm ready, I'm loving this. Let's go to the Chiefs and the Bengals. My quick takeaway here is I do think that the end of the third quarter in the beginning of the fourth quarter could be one of those moments that sort of galvanizes the chief season. And they stopped Joe Mixon on the fourth and one when the Bengals were driving deep in Kansas City territory. Then you had what was important, right, a couple of big catches from Rashie Rice and Justin Watson where Patrick Mahomes threw open balls and Valdez Scanty dropped another big one in this game. But like, you know, you had guys come up big in certain spots and so like they need some of these games where people can develop some confidence in one another, you know, And I think this is one of those where defense does its job as it has for a majority of the season, but they can turn it over to the offense and the offense can start to, you know, generate a little bit of an impact outside to Kelsey.
This felt like the game where they're starting to lean in a little bit into maybe what we see them becoming the playoffs where Pacheco got the ball a lot. Yes, they were sort of managing the game on offense, you know, like they were okay kicking field goals. I think it was four field goals in the second half, right, and then riding the defense, and the defense played great down the stretch, Like this wasn't just like a okay, the defense is a sidecar to Patrick Mahomes, you know, like this was the defense won the game. Like the back to back sacks at the end. I think it was Carl Loftis and Chris Jones, right, like where Chris Jones just roasted Ted Carris, and you know, Carl Loftis came off the edge I think to play before they were getting in the backfield, they were creating havoc, you know, I know again that it's not Joe Burrow in there and there's Jake Browning, and that's you know, those are two different things. But this is like, for the most part, what the defense has shown itself as capable of, you know, for a good chunk of the year. And so I wonder Connor watching the game, like if like that second half is them like starting to lean into all right, Patrick is great. Patrick's gonna be able to bail us out in spots, but we can't have him putting the cape on every single play. Like, let's go ahead and lean on Pacheco a little bit and try and lean on their defense a little bit and then ride our defense to win.
That's you know, they were a little froggy too after the game. I was happy for them just to kind of talking their talk, and you know, you know, this was as confident and as just not self loathing as I've seen the Chiefs be in the last few weeks. So which is fun. I mean, the NFL is better when the Chiefs are better. The next game I want to talk about, though, I'm going to give you a trivia question. So between week fourteen and week seventeen, there have been sixteen quarterbacks who have played a minimum of one hundred and fifty snaps. The best quarterback in the NFL over the last four weeks has been Lamar Jackson. Second best has been Matt Stafford. Who do you think has been the third best quarterback in the NFL over the last four weeks?
This has got to be like a trick.
In terms of and so the metric I'm using, I like, I like the Ben Baldwin thing. So it's completion percentage over expectation plus expected points added and it's a it's a.
Combination of this, is it Gardner? Minshew? No, it's a good guest though, because I think it's got to be someone Joe Flacco Jordan Love.
So, Jordan Love has been playing lights out and now the Packers are in a situation where they better than fo Huh, yeah, he's been better than Flacco. Imagine that, who's been better than so? They have? You know, the Packers are in a situation where they can win their way into the postseason, and I think, what.
Don't figure they get a froggy opponent and the Bears this week too, I.
Know, And I'm really like, so here's the fun flip side of that trivia question is has been the second best defense in the NFL over that time period, behind only the Cleveland Browns. And so you're getting a team that's playing the best it's been. Like I think there's a tailwind in Chicago. They're doing well, Like there's good vibes everywhere there. Justin Fields is playing well. But anyway, you're Green Bay and you have a chance to really make this a special season, like to get Jordan Love into the playoffs in his first year as a full time starter, to give him a taste of that in the postseason. I mean, that's gonna be spectacular. And they blew out the vikings on.
And especially like with that like month long dep he had in the middle of the season. Like I think like Matt Lafleur and Adam Stenovich and all those guys, I think those guys are putting on a clinic as far as developing a quarterback and sticking with a quarterback. And you know, like I know, most teams, most coaching staffs, most front offices don't have the flexibility to sit a guy for three years. But I think like Jordan Love's ability to kind of ride out the highs and lows are in part because you know, he was able to watch Aaron Rodgers for three years and watch what an NFL season looks like, and you know it's just he like Jordan Love, looks explosive, looks decisive, and and he's got this young group of skill guys coming up big around him, like Jayden Reid had a huge game the other night, and like you had him like Christian Watson and you know Watson's been hurt, but Romeo Dobbs and Luke Musgrave and man like this team could be onto something, you know, if the defense can play a little bit better. And I think they have the horses to play a little bit better, so long as you know, they don't have like issues with you know, who might be captain and certainly yeah, yeah, by the way, thank you for raising that last week, because I wasn't aware of it when you brought it up, and uh, like I still have text groups that are talking about it. It's just in particular determinator shades, which I think you pointed out first to me.
It's just the whole package. Jayira Alexander just pretending to be and like getting himself suspended for a critical game. You know, it's just that the whole thing is just awesome. But you know, the Packers.
I liked the video of him because it was just he was so nonchalant about it, like it was the most understandable thing in the world. What he did.
It's absolutely wild. So the Packers will be the number seven seed if they beat the Bears and the Rams beat the forty nine Ers, which I would expect to happen because I think the forty nine ers are gonna rest a lot of guys, or they'll be the sixth seed if they beat the Bears and the forty nine Ers beat the Rams, so they technically be rooting for the forty nine ers. But I don't know. I think this team.
Johing not likely theihood they have the seventh seed, which means they'll probably go to.
Dallas, depending on Yeah. I mean, the Eagles need a lot of help. I think Dallas is probably presuming they can take care of business against the Commanders, which not to build in too many asides on this, but I think it would be the most Ron Rivera and Mike McCarthy thing ever for the for the Commanders to just blow the doors off of the Cowboys in the final farewell yeah and uh and just piece out of there. But I think this is a really nice season for the Packers, And I think what's super cool about this is if you throw them into the tournament similar to the Rams. You know, yes, they're inferior from a personnel standpoint, but these are two teams that are just now figuring it out and figuring out what works for them. And I would say that, I would venture to say that they're gonna be a little bit dangerous just because you don't know, we don't really have a handle on the full breadth of what they do well right now. And so I do think that they're that I think the Rams, the Packers, and the Buck at the bottom of that NFC, one of those teams is gonna just win a bunch of stupid games, you know, just because I feel like they can all get hot. They all have good play callers, you know.
I mean, I don't like if the Bucks played the Eagles, well you you, I mean, we know what you think of the Eagles, because you picked the Cardinals to yeah baby, to beat them last week and and lo and behold you right.
I also I also picked nine upsets and I got eight of them wrong, so you.
Know one, yes, the one was the one was very great. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean I like, if the Bucks played the Eagles in the first round, which I think will be the matchup now right then who would you pick?
I would pick the Bucks, even though the Bucks will get to that. Like just absolutely laid an egg this weekend, and it was so disappointing, just because I thought that, uh, you know, they kind of had everything rolling there, but to put a bone in the Packers. I mean, I so I predicted the Packers that have a ten win season. I don't think I'm well, I can't get there, but they can finish the year nine and eight. Jordan Love will be in the playoffs. Aaron Rodgers will not. And I do think that there's something, there's some comed you.
Definitely could have credit for that. And I would say and I would say, the Rams are the Rams are really dangerous because the Rams, like you said, like, we don't know exactly what they are, and they've got a quarterback who's got a ring like and who's playing well, you know, I think Stafford's like Stafford. Look, I think one of the more underrated storylines of the season is how like rejuvenated Stafford has looked, and what a what a great influence he's been on their young players and they have that's led to young guys in their offensive line, and obviously Kyron Williams and Pokin Nakula emerging for them as stars. You know. Yeah, so let's really impressive what the Rams have pulled off.
So let's go there. Twenty six, twenty five, the Rams beat the Giants. And I was talking to a coach about the Giants right now, and the coach was just like, nobody wants to play them because Wink Martindale is just doing whatever, you know. And I don't mean to I don't mean to make this sound irresponsible, but like, these are the games that are so good to be Wink Martindale, because you can be irresponsible with your pressures and it doesn't matter. You have five wins and yeah you want to you know, you're just try and stuff. And Matt Stafford got sacked four times. And then if you've sacked four times, you throw a couple of picks, you start to get in the quarterbacks head a little bit. And that kind of pressure is gonna get in anyone's head. But then you. You know, you're missing extra points, you're fumbling the ball. And I do think that that is a more quality win for LA than we're giving it credit for it. This time of year, it's cross country trip. Nobody would like Tyrod Taylor is back, you know who, and you know he's a professional.
Quarterback and he made stuff happen.
He made some stuff happen. And I'm just saying that is, you know, I because the Eagles have the Giants to close out the season, right ye don't want to play the Giants right now either because Wink Martini's just thrown resume tape out there right now, and he's like, he'll blitz the security guard. He doesn't care. You know, it doesn't matter. He'll try it. See see if you throw a flag, you know, it doesn't matter.
Yeah. Yeah, So you know, and I agree like that this is a dangerous game for the Eagles, like a really dangerou because the other thing, like you're starting to see with the Giants is some of their young skill talent like Robinson, like Jandale Robinson, yeah, and Jalen Hyatt are starting to play well, you know. And I was talking to an executive earlier earlier, today about like where the Eagles problems are. And it's like they've gotten really old in the back seven, you know, between Bradbury, I know, Slave's hurt, but you know, Bayered and Shack Lunder. They're relying on a lot of older players on the back end of their defense and they've gotten slow because of it. And so now you've got this Giants team that's coming in there with like Robinson and Hyatt aren't finished products, but their sticks to dynamite, you know as players, you know, like they they can go fifty in a blank. You know. So this is like a really really dangerous game for the Eagles. And you know, I don't know that I don't know that it means much for the Giants to win games like this, but you know, I certainly do look at like where they were in the middle of the year and like it's just a real validation of Brian Dables program that there that they were able to in what was a last year, after making the playoffs last year, get themselves in a position where they're competitive every week down the stretch, whether DeVito's their quarterback or Tyrods their quarterback.
I will tell everybody here's one thing that I would rewind and look for in that game. So the you know, the Giants just were throwing haymakers at the Rams, and so there was a couple of plays where they brought pukin. Akia in is almost like an up back on a punt to sort of contain some of the interior pressure. That guy rocks. People like just watch him hit people and it is so crazy. He plays wide receiver, and I like, I had.
Someone, I had someone compare him to Akwon Bolton, and I kind of like that.
It's it's like, you know who he I have, not like there is so strong.
He's just physically strong.
I know, there's so there's so few really good skill position pass protectors, and Puka is not really a pass protector, but they're using him that way because he's so physical and you can play Puka and Cooper like tight ends and so gosh. I mean, but that's part of the reason. Like I don't know, when the Rams get in the playoffs, who the hell knows what they're gonna do. And I like that, and I think that Sunday was a nice little example of them overcoming adversity. Giants are a little bit better than we thought. They were I have two more games that I want to talk about before we get into the lightning round. And well, and we'll go fast here. Eagles Cardinals. I you know, so, yes, I predicted the Cardinals were going to win. But I but I also so, let's just pull up the m m QB staff picks, just so I'm not taking credit for I I meant. And you know, you could say, yeah, sure, pal, I meant this pick because the you know, I told people this. I think I have it somewhere in one of our slack channels, so I can I can post it to the public if they you know, because the public's trust is important to me. But I said, Jonathan Gannon knows Jalen Hurts better than anybody else. The Eagles staff was super collaborative when Shane Steiken and Jonathan Gannon were there, and Shane would go to Stikeen and or Gannon would and Stichen would talk, and Sneichen would talk to all of his defensive guys, and you would say, hey, what would really annoy you as a defensive coordinator? And if I do this, what are you gonna do? And then if I do this, what are you gonna do? And so Jonathan Gannon knows five thought levels ahead of what Jalen Hurts, likes and is comfortable with, and he's gonna be able to throw him a couple of curveballs and a couple in the fact that he's got guys like James Connor who are coming out there and they ready to play. I thought that scream trap game. The problem for me right now, if you're Philly is you have to break out of this sleepwalk at some point, and the seating is out of your control as you head into that last game. And if you're Siriani, this is like a real big it's sort of a real big gut check moment for you because you could rest the players and you could sit them down and you could be like, listen, use this to get your head right and we're gonna be okay, or you have to say that we need to work our way out of this funk. And I guess that's what's nice about having Fletcher Cox and Jason Kelsey. They'll tell you the truth, they'll tell you what they want to do. But I don't know. I mean, this is just a disaster. Before your spun. I will just say, so, here are my ups. So I picked the Jets to beat the Browns. I picked the Lions to beat the Cowboys. I picked the Dolphins to beat the Ravens. I picked the Patriots to beat the Bills. I picked the I'd picked the Raiders to beat the Colts. I picked the Panthers to beat the Jaguars. I picked the Titans to beat the Texans. Uh. And I picked the Giants to beat the Rams. And I was the only one who picked the couple of them. But I and I also picked the Steelers to beat the Seahawks, So I nailed that one. But yeah, so I because I'm so far behind right now that I need to pick the opposite of everyone else. And I needed to hit it two weeks in a row in order to come back and win, because you know who cares if I finished in the last place.
That yeah, yeah, the Siriani decision is going to be interesting. It's like in like, in one sense, you're right, like because they're aging and because they've got like so many older players. It's like, do you want to give those guys the week to get their legs back before the playoffs? But like, what good memory do those guys have to pull? On right right, like where it was like they were the team that they envisioned being before the year. I mean, you have a bad loss of the Cardinals, a loss of the Seattle that wasn't the most horrible thing in the world, but you lose it in heartbreaking fashion, I think, get blown out by the Niners and Cowboys, right, and then in there you got the win on Christmas over the Giant, which wasn't exactly the most impressive thing in the world. So you almost have to go back to those wins over the Chiefs Bills, which were on the Monday and Sunday bookending Thanksgiving. So like there is that part of it, like do you do you need to give the team a good feeling and some confidence and something to draw back on when they get to the playoffs now? Or for your Fletcher Cox or Jason Kelsey or Lane Johnson or Darius Slayer, Kevin Byern, do you do those guys need more of a blow Brandon Graham? Do those guys just need to get their legs back? I think you're right. I think this is where you go to those older guys and you say, what does this team need right now?
You know what I would do you want to do you want to hear my wild card theory? Go ahead, Okay, I signed on for half. No, you sign a bunch of random like like fringe, like former Pro Bowl people who are like announcing and want to get back into it or whatever, you know, like Richard Sherman, Like, you sign a bunch of those people, and you just populate roster with like you cut like four or five guys that you can cut and uh, you know, because we treat this like we're the Jets and we don't care about you know, people having run.
Just hire the Amazon set.
Yeah, just hire the Amazon set. Let them play. Maybe one or two of them still got a little bit of a Andrew whitwith looks good. He lost too much weight. I'm no, yeah, like, let them let them go nuts. People want to watch it. It's fun and okay, what if Sherm's got a step still? And then you take them with you in the playoffs like well, you know, you say, hey, this is an audition fellas, you know who wants to come aboard the super Bowl train and be the hero. And that way you get the guys get arrest too. They get to enjoy it. It's like It's like taking the team to go play paintball, except you're just watching. Yeah. The other one was the Steelers in the Seahawks. So I just got hot with this game because I was down five points in my fantasy football championship and I had Tyler Lockett and he had no plays left. I thought the hay was in the barn. And then Gino Smith proceeds to between Tyler Lockett and Jack Jackson, Smith and Jigba two catches twenty three yards and a touchdown to Smith and Jake I'm looking.
At it now, Metcalf Charbonnet. That's where he was going.
I think, I mean, you're at home that like, I'm just sorry. That's a game where you can't get out coach, you can't get out scheme and Seattle did I mean? And that you know, you are essentially working your way out of the playoffs. And that's a bummer because this team was so talented.
Here's my question, though, Like, if you're a Steeler fan, is this good?
I mean, it's too late for it to like, you know what I mean, it's too late for it not to be good, Like do.
There need to be bigger changes in Pittsburgh? Yes, but it's too like something like this could prevent it, right, you know, Like I mean Mason Rudolph playing this well, does that mean you're looking for a quarterback in March and April? You know what I mean for sure? And then George Pickens playing this well? Does that mean you're relying on them when maybe you shouldn't, like over a longer period of time. Yeah, and the offense is starting to play well well, does that mean you stick with the guys you've got or do you go outside the organization still to go find somebody? So that's like what's fascinating is like, I don't the Steelers have the capacity to make much noise in the playoffs, So what becomes of this little run now, like of them being able to get their stuff together and get in the playoffs? Like I don't know that it's necessarily the best thing for the team long term. You know it's not.
But you know, if you have Mike Tomlin, this is kind of what it's going to be. And you know you have to if you're Omar Khan, you have to sell them on, Hey, let's trade our entire draft when you're go and get Drake may Or Caleb Williams like, we have to get more dynamic players, and by virtue, the.
Probably when Sunday too, because I mean, my guess is John Harbaugh decides to sit down to.
His guy, right, and then you need to win and you need the Dolphins to beat Buffalo, or you need Tennessee to beat the Jaguars, which I actually think the second is more likely. I think the Titans do beat the Jaguars just because that's such a verble thing to do. You know, what does it matter to him to be five and eleven or you know, five and twelve or six and eleven doesn't matter. You know, they're gonna go out there and they're gonna just be wild because they can be.
The Jaguars have obviously been they got it together on Sunday against the worst team in the league. They've been kind of raggedy, though, So we'll see what happens.
Yeah, So I don't know. I mean, yes, I think that Steelers could back in, whereas the Seahawks need to win and they need green Bay to lose or to tie, or actually over the Seahawks tie and green Bay loses.
And still like, maybe I'm a prisoner of my own predictions. But I still really like the Seahawks team. Like, I think the rosters in a good place.
You know, cut them all Adams and I think he got something.
Get him out of there.
That's right, bad for everybody. It's lightning around this thing. I have just some very quick thoughts on the rest of these games and will start from the top here of my list. And Broncos Chargers, Yeah whatever, two hundred and twenty four yards and touchdown for Jared's Broncos aren't in the playoffs, so but I do think they played slightly better than I would have given them credit for. I picked them to win five games this year. They will at minimum win eight games. They have accomplished what they need to accomplish, which is to rip the band aid off the Russell Wilson situation and get him out of there.
So I think this is ideal for I think it was actually ideal for Sean Payton because he has some good positive momentum in the organization and making them a lot more competitive than they were last year. And he comes out of it with a clean, slighted quarterback. Yeah, you know, so, Like I do think like this puts them in a position now to reset a little bit. It's almost like Sean McDermott in twenty seventeen in Buffalo where the roster needed a lot of work, but he won that first year, you know, and they made the playoffs for the first time in eighteen years. It kind of say the table for everything. I think that's sort of where the Broncos.
Are Texans Titans twenty six to three. It's amazing to me what Houston's offense looks like with CJ. Stroudback, and there was a like they had been running a lot of play action concepts and then they give the ball to Devin Singletary ever once and there there was one play in particular it might have been as long as carry there wasn't anybody within eight yards of him. And I think that that is going to be kind of the next frontier for Houston where their run game is so under respected that they could go out and gash somebody in the playoffs because they do have the outside zone, yeah, structure built in, like you know, if they stumble into the you know, if they stumble into this tournament, you know, I could see them just throwing up some wacky game with a rush for two hundred and fifty yards.
It's you know, like the other thing is too, Like you look at the Texans and they are the they are the blueprint for the team that's gonna make it hard on everybody else. Now you know what I mean because and I mean that like in people's jobs to care yep, because it's like, well, Demiko Ryans did it. Yeah, you know what I mean. Like and now it's like but that's what gets me by, like how quickly that thing is flipped, you know what I mean? Like where now this is like I don't think you could name five teams in the league that have a brighter future than they do.
Yeah, could you?
Because I thought of this when I was thinking about when you were talking like what a great game Will Anderson had and how like wow, like Will Anderson looks like a not doesn't have the same value as CJ. Stratus of the offense, but like the same sort of thing, like a guy you can build around in that side of the ball, Like he's emerging as that now and you know CJ comes back and plays like he did. And then you add it to like having a young head coach who has ties to the organization like Demiko does. Could you name, like, how many teams out how many teams in the league would you trade if you're the Texans, how many teams in the league when you trade situations with? Probably not many, right.
That's actually an interesting question. Let me look, so I would not.
I think they've got like a great situation.
No one in the AFC East, I guess maybe the Chiefs, maybe just because they have Mahomes, maybe the Ravens, but I don't know, Uh, definitely not anyone in else in the AFC South Point taking.
Yes, isn't it crazy?
The forty nine Look, if I had told you that, yeah, the forty nine ers, If I had told you that though that the list would be that short five months ago, you would have laughed in my face. Probably, Yeah, it's insane, Like it's just like how quickly that whole thing's turned. It's you know, I I think the Cassario gets credit. I think Demika Ryan's's credit.
I think C. J. Stroud gets a lot of credit like they. I would if I was a Texans fan, I'd be fired up about the off season. Now. You know, like you had cap space, you have a young quarterback, You're gonna be able to track people there, people were to play for Dimigo is an awesome situation.
Forty nine Ers twenty seven Commanders ten. Uh, you know kind of just went the way we thought I was gonna go.
Yeah, work work, I would say, workman like bounce back for the Niners, right, like we leave it at that. Yeah, Saints Bucks, No, I mean like I think it's I think it's a the Niners are what we thought they were and the Ravens lost bad as that one one was for them, doesn't change that.
Yeah, Saints twenty three Bucks thirteen such a bummer. I thought Baker Mayfield just played a little out of character in this game, like he yeah, a bad fifty to fifty ball pick. And Dave Canalis has done such a good job there, like providing him with answers on every play, and I think he just went a little out of structure. And the Saints when when Derek Carr is rolling, which I don't really think is going to happen until Pete Carmichael leaves truly on a consistent basis, they can get up on you. I mean he's yeah, he's a professional quarterback. He's you know I said he's he's he's uh, buying Derek Carr is like buying the Andy Dalton h model, but getting leather seats, you know, it's it's like putting leather seats in your Andy Dalton. And But I think that I think that they will absolutely move on from Pete Carmichael. I think they're going to hire an OC with ties to Derek Carr who will get the best out of him and make him feel wanted. I think it's a mess right there with just kind of you know everything, But I.
Think bring in like Todd Downing you're saying or something like that, Todd Downing.
I mean, I'm not saying John Joel muskrage John Gruden, but like you know, or you know, like there are a bunch of guys like if you go.
To that'd be funny if like Gruden was a OC next year.
Boy, I don't know. There's picture of him in Saints gear, which.
Yeah, well he has been there, he has been there. He yeah. Like I i They're they're an exciting team. Like I think that they're like the Saints have a chain ants with a few moves in the offseason. I think, you know, you look at like their skill talent, like Carr can still play a little bit. Like I actually think, like watching the Saints and Bucks on Sunday, like these are two like relatively entertaining teams that like have sort of become forgotten and lost in this season. But you know, like I think both of them, both of them like have had flashes where I don't know, like I think we looked at maybe a month ago, two months ago, as like the NFC East runner up was going to just bludgeon whoever comes out of that division in the first round, and that's not so much the case anymore.
Colts twenty three, Raiders twenty I don't know. I hope that I think that it makes sense if you're Mark Davis, for Antonio Peers to hold onto this job because you're still paying two other head coaches, or are you paying Gruden still or was the firing for cause so you don't have to well I think part of that's wrapped up in the lawsuit. Yeah, yeah, but you're still paying Josh McDaniels, And so I think you hold on to Antonio Pierce, you let the smoke clear, and you let him deal with because you're not gonna be picking very high. You're still going to struggle with the quarterback situation. You're probably gonna lose DeVante Adams. Let him handle it.
And well, I mean, certainly I think it helps Pierce that, you know, I think Mark Davis has a little regret over a couple of years ago. He's running it back for a year with rich Vesaccia. What I have heard is that like Davis might have a big swing in him. Now I don't know what that swing would be, but yeah, that Mark Davis may have a swing in him. And if that swing doesn't connect, then Belichick, that swing.
Doesn't connect, then would you hire Belichick after you fired Josh McDaniels, Like.
Well, little known fact like Al Davis almost hired Bill Belichick in like nineteen ninety eight when he first hired Gruden. And I know Bill has talked about that in the past. And what he said was he said to Al, because he and Al were really friendly, he said to Al, well, you know, Al, you're the defensive coordinator here, so why do you want to hire defensive coach? And that was actually crazy as that sounds for people who don't know, like there was actually some truth to that, Like, like Al Davis would always hire offensive minded head coaches, and he would more or less be the defensive coordinator.
So awesome. That's what you do.
Headset in the owner's box.
Yes, I own the team. I'll do whatever I want. A nice job by the Colts, So I thought this weekend Shansteiken is just he's great. And the you know what I noticed too, is just mixing, mixing up the tempo that game and just allowing Gardner Minshew to go no huddle. It's so wild that it just works. And then you know, the run game is working with Taylor Now ninety six yards in a touchdown Bears Falcons thirty seven to seventeen. He had a snow game which was very esthetically pleasing. I thought that was really beautiful. I saw NFL Network reporting that Eberflus was coming back. I had heard probably a couple of weeks before that that there was no doubt that the front office was coming back. I thought that he was probably on the fence. I think he played his way into another year of coaching that team, which good for him. I really do think he's a good coach. They button some stuff up down the stretch, and that defense, especially those line you know, especially you know, part of that lineback and corps has been really good. Montess what's been excellent.
Yeah, And I think, like you know, Kevin Warren is sort of the wild card here, the team president for those who don't know, the former commissioner of the Big Ten who also used to work for the Vikings. He remains the wild card here, I would say, But yeah, it definitely feels like it's trending towards both those guys keeping their jobs and they should. I mean, like honestly, like if we look back at this, I think I may have brought this up to you last week, Connor, but like if you had told me in the spring of twenty twenty two, Okay, year one is our cap clean out, right, Like we take on dead cap and we start to build draft capital and we just clean out the roster. And then year two we're going to struggle for the first half of the year and then we're gonna come on and win a bunch of games and look really good on defense and the young quarterback's gonna start playing better at the end of year two. Would you have signed up for that? Probably right, sure, But if you look at it for like what it's been over the last two years. Like and I know, like people get in their head because they fired eber Fluce in October, right, Like some people in their head had that this was going to be like total change. Jim Harbor or whoever else is gonna come in there in October. But you know, like in letting this thing play out, you know, especially like the way they were able to come out of the Alan Williams thing and everything else, Like and letting this thing play out, I think you found out a little bit more about it. Who mad Eberflus as a coach and you want a third year with him?
I agree? We have the Patriots and the Bills. I mean at this point, just like tell us, who tell us what Bill Belichick's doing? I mean, I you know they did you know it was twenty one to twenty seven. They played him.
They haven't quit on him. Yeah.
I think someone asked Belichick about the meaning of the players playing tough down the stretch and he got pretty spicy with a with a poor reporter from New Hampshire today. I want to say, which, sorry about that guy. Yeh Jets Browns Brown's thirty seven Jets twenty Flacco. This was the month of Flaco. I'm now curious because when we have these hot stretches of quarterbacks, it's always a month, and defensive coordinators like to have four games of sample size when they look back at a quarterback. Right, so now we have five of Flacco. Is he does he fall into that category of those little one year wonder guys or does his library of experience make him like, oh, it's like Matt Stafford, like he just knows what he's doing and he could come out and rip three touchdowns any week. You know, I don't know. And that's what's going to be kind of fun about Joe Flacco coming up here these next few weeks, is we don't know if he turns back into a pumpkin because he's well rested, and I mean, he's won a Super Bowl. He's a good quarterback.
Yeah, I just I just did this, and I just thought about this in my head, like you brought up those two and I hadn't thought of it in that context. But Flacco was only one draft class ahead of of of Stafford. Right now. Stafford was a three year guy at college and Flacco is a five year guy. So Flacco is probably three years older. But yeah, I mean, I think, like, what, like he looks so in control and like with like he's got great knowledge of what he's doing out there, and I think, like, you know, Kevin Stefanski and Alex van Pelt and all those guys deserve credit for two. But it feels like it just gets more ridiculous every week, right, Like, so they were doing this with their fourth and fifth tackles and without Nick Chubb before and oh yeah, by the way, on Thursday night they did it without Amari Cooper or Elijah Moore, right, you know what I mean? Like, and it's still I think it was was it the Jets hadn't been thrown on and for had had had a lot of three hundred yard passer in thirty three games, and Flacco was at like two ninety six at the half.
Yeah, he'd passed for seven yards I think in the second half, which is hilarious. But this is the NFL's peak bizarre world, and Joe Flacco is fulfilling our prophecy from a few weeks ago and contending for a Super Bowl, which is this is what we wanted, this is what we expected going into it. That's what we asked, that's what we asked for Albert. Thank you as always, and we will be back. Now that the Christmas and the New Year's which I hope if you celebrated, you guys all had an awesome time. We'll be back on our normal schedule here and we'll be rocking and rolling through the playoffs. Be sure to tune in Thursday as always for Matt and Gilberto. They've been doing a great job. And yeah, thank you guys always for everything, and we'll see you next week.
