Wk 18: New Years Resolutions For Every Playoff Team

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to the Point after show with Kyle Maurer, Marshall hesla and Ian DeWitt. This is the show where the guys attempt to pick the winners of the weekly NFL games along with some healthy debate about current topics. [00:00:12] Speaker B: Let's go. Let's go. [00:00:15] Speaker C: How we doing? [00:00:18] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:00:19] Speaker C: Whoa. [00:00:19] Speaker B: I'm sorry. I'm playing with the. Playing with the sound fire. Yeah. [00:00:22] Speaker C: Because we're. Yeah. [00:00:25] Speaker B: I forget how many cool songs we've got. Yeah. We are not using these buttons enough. Marshall, you gotta hit these fun buttons for sound effects. [00:00:33] Speaker C: Kyle's in charge because our. Our lovely Marshall is out sick again. Okay. Wow. [00:00:42] Speaker B: Explosion called out. Yeah. No fun. But we miss you, buddy. [00:00:46] Speaker C: We do get better. [00:00:48] Speaker B: Get better soon. You better. [00:00:50] Speaker C: See you next week after Super Wild card weekend. [00:00:54] Speaker B: Super duper. Remember back in the day when it was just wild card? [00:00:58] Speaker C: I know. Why is it called super now? Is it because of. They have basically two extra games now, don't they? [00:01:03] Speaker B: Two. There's no. There's three games. Oh, two. Okay. [00:01:07] Speaker C: Because one on each side. [00:01:08] Speaker B: One on each side. Was it. Yes, you're right. [00:01:11] Speaker C: Because it was six teams. You had two teams had a buy. [00:01:14] Speaker B: You're right. [00:01:14] Speaker C: And then they added the seventh, and now only one team gets a buy. [00:01:17] Speaker B: Wow. Things were so different back in our day. [00:01:19] Speaker C: I know. [00:01:20] Speaker B: Wow. [00:01:21] Speaker C: Back in my day, you could have got second seed. It meant something back then. [00:01:27] Speaker B: Back in my day, Strahan was the sack. All time leader. [00:01:30] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:01:31] Speaker B: He wasn't on only Regis and Kelly games. Yeah. [00:01:36] Speaker C: Anyway, he was on Regis and Kelly, wasn't he? [00:01:39] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah, but he. It was Michael and Kelly, I think. Right. [00:01:43] Speaker C: Because he had that Regis. Yeah. [00:01:47] Speaker B: Good old Regis. Did you ever watch who Wants to Be a Millionaire? [00:01:50] Speaker C: Oh, yeah, of course. Who didn't? Of course. That was. That was back. There was a time in our lives where game shows. [00:01:58] Speaker B: Preach, Preach. [00:01:59] Speaker C: Were a big hit and you would watch them and it was like the super bowl when a guy was, like, on a roll, like in the who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Like, they were. They were on a streak. [00:02:11] Speaker B: Totally. And everybody's talking about it the next day, man. [00:02:14] Speaker C: Yeah. Like. [00:02:14] Speaker B: Oh. [00:02:14] Speaker C: Did you get that question? [00:02:15] Speaker B: What? [00:02:16] Speaker C: Was it ridiculous? [00:02:18] Speaker B: No. Some of those moments were priceless. I'll never forget some of that. [00:02:22] Speaker C: They made a literal movie about this Slumdog Millionaire. Yeah. [00:02:26] Speaker B: Great movie. [00:02:27] Speaker C: Great movie. [00:02:28] Speaker B: Yeah. Not take. Not. [00:02:29] Speaker C: I feel like it's won a Oscar or two. [00:02:32] Speaker B: I think it did win a lot. [00:02:33] Speaker C: I think it did. [00:02:34] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. I just saw that lead actor in an episode of a show called Modern Love, which I. I'M enjoying. Yeah. Based on, like, the New York Times column, which was in a podcast and now is a series based on, like, essays about, you know, love in the. In the modern age. And he was on a very moving episode of that show, which I loved. Check it out. I think it's on. I don't know what this. On a TV streaming. I feel like TV is hard now. [00:02:58] Speaker C: I feel like I've seen it on Netflix, but I'm not entirely sure. [00:03:01] Speaker B: Those early seasons of American Idol 2 were like, appointment. [00:03:05] Speaker C: Kelly Clarkson still big. [00:03:06] Speaker B: You remember. I mean, you remember William Hung. [00:03:09] Speaker C: Yes. [00:03:10] Speaker B: Gosh, dude. [00:03:11] Speaker C: Oh, my gosh. She bangs. She bang. [00:03:14] Speaker B: Oh, baby. [00:03:16] Speaker C: She move. She moved. Thank you. Oh, wow. What a callback. [00:03:21] Speaker B: I know. [00:03:22] Speaker C: Yeah. You don't really get that anymore like, any of those shows. It's just like nobody. Nobody really cares. This is like the. [00:03:29] Speaker B: There isn't. I could. I will. I will be with you on the. In that, like, whatever. However long ago that was. 20 years, probably 20 years from now. The kids watching TV today will not have this bonding moment that you and I are. Because they're not watching the same thing. I contest this. I. I put. Think that this is the reality. I think that you and I were later in the generations of. Of people who actually kind of have a shared media experience. Well, it's because these days are all watching their own thing. [00:03:59] Speaker C: Well. And that half of them. It's because you have so many different streaming services and nobody really wants to sub to all of them. [00:04:05] Speaker B: Right. [00:04:06] Speaker C: So, you know, you got one group over here watching Stranger Things and you got another group over here watching Ted Lasso, which. [00:04:14] Speaker B: Right. [00:04:15] Speaker C: Both are great. [00:04:15] Speaker B: Pick your show. [00:04:16] Speaker C: I haven't watched Ted Lasso yet because I know. [00:04:19] Speaker B: I really. [00:04:19] Speaker C: I just don't have Apple tv. [00:04:21] Speaker B: I know. I would like it, too. [00:04:22] Speaker C: I know I would, too. The problem is, actually, I'm about to get Apple TV because that's where F1's gonna be next. Next season. [00:04:30] Speaker B: They gotcha. [00:04:31] Speaker C: Well, I have to because they. I have a sub to the F1TV channel. And then now they're moving their rights over to Apple. So, I mean, it's not really any different than what I was already doing. [00:04:43] Speaker B: But, you know, there's another thing that we have in common. Not just similar age and TV viewing experiences in our youth. We're all both tall. [00:04:51] Speaker C: We are both tall. [00:04:52] Speaker B: We've got a question here. [00:04:53] Speaker C: And this was from Adam Silver, the. [00:04:56] Speaker B: Lovely commish, who's also famously quite tall. [00:04:59] Speaker C: He is. How tall is he? [00:05:00] Speaker B: He's taller. Than me. [00:05:02] Speaker C: Wow. That's pretty. [00:05:02] Speaker B: Probably 6 5ish. [00:05:04] Speaker C: Oh, so he's pretty close to my height. [00:05:05] Speaker B: He's a tall guy. [00:05:06] Speaker C: I'm like six four and a half. I wouldn't quite identify myself as six five, but I am. I am a little taller than six four. I'm like, just a hair above it. [00:05:17] Speaker B: Wow. [00:05:18] Speaker C: So we are tall. Tall gentlemen. [00:05:20] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:05:21] Speaker C: So Adam Silver writes in. How has your life benefited from being tall? And would you want to be taller or shorter? [00:05:30] Speaker B: You know, I don't know. You answer first. [00:05:34] Speaker C: Well, from my understanding, the ladies like tall guys. [00:05:38] Speaker B: You know, that's always kind of been contested. I've generally believed it to be true. I. Is it? We're both married guys. [00:05:47] Speaker C: We are both married. [00:05:48] Speaker B: 100 of tall men in this room are successfully married and stayed married. Our dream girls are. [00:05:55] Speaker C: Yeah, there it is. So that's got clearly something going. [00:05:58] Speaker B: So we've just done some data analysis, and we've proven that to be true. So your romantic life is advantaged by your height. What else, though? [00:06:08] Speaker C: I. I mean, I hit my head on things. I don't know if that's an advantage. [00:06:11] Speaker B: I do a lot. You know, this summer, as you recall, we were in between houses. Yes, because we sold ours, and then the people we were buying from didn't move out, and we spent about three months forced to live in our camper. We didn't have a house to go to, so we just parked a camper at campgrounds or my parents farm property. And let me tell you something, I hit my head a lot. A lot. Campers are small, okay. And the bed and the doors and the cupboards and everything. I'm bonking my head all summer long. It sucked. Yeah. [00:06:48] Speaker C: I think the one advantage I've had from being tall is that I was a unit of measurement when I worked at Queens. [00:06:58] Speaker B: Oh, like how many Ian's? [00:06:59] Speaker C: Like, how many, mister? Well, they didn't call it Ian's. They call it. How many Mr. DeWitt's is this? And it was funny because when I taught at the elementary school, I mean, I taught sixth grade, and I would walk through the kindergarten and the first grade hallway, and they would, like, stop, and they would look up from way down below, and they were just like. [00:07:22] Speaker B: Whoa, he's so tall. Right? [00:07:23] Speaker C: And there was, like, a little bit of, like, intimidation in that, which allowed a lot more control. [00:07:29] Speaker B: I like that. [00:07:30] Speaker C: I like the control. And I still have that to this day, even when I teach in middle school. I think my height is intimidating to some of them. Yeah. Okay. But by and large, I would be fine if I was a little shorter because clothes are hard to find that fit well. [00:07:46] Speaker B: Okay. That's true. That can be tricky. [00:07:48] Speaker C: Do hit my head on a lot of things. [00:07:50] Speaker B: Right. [00:07:51] Speaker C: But I also like being tall because you get a bird eye view on things. It's really easy. [00:07:56] Speaker B: Yeah. I've never lived short life, so I don't have a comparison here. [00:08:00] Speaker C: This is true. I haven't either. [00:08:01] Speaker B: But yeah. So a lot of the struggles of not being able to reach things or see things, I just can't relate to you. I imagine that must be hard for you. [00:08:11] Speaker C: You poor people. [00:08:12] Speaker B: For everyone else who's listening to this, who's probably shorter than us except for the commish. I. I love playing basketball and my height is a huge advantage. I have a long wingspan. I block a lot of shots. [00:08:26] Speaker C: Yeah, you do. [00:08:27] Speaker B: I am. There's a lot of matchups I get where I mean, good luck to you. [00:08:33] Speaker C: Oh, man. [00:08:34] Speaker B: Good luck to you. You get me the ball near the basket, there's nothing you can do. I'm putting that in. [00:08:38] Speaker C: Are you a center? [00:08:40] Speaker B: I hate playing the big man. See, there's, here's the thing. I hate playing big. I don't want to be the big. I don't want to go down and post up. I don't know how to do it. I'm terrible at it. I don't have any moves down there. I, I, in my head I'm a guard, but unfortunately with where I play pick up ball at the Y a few days a week, I'm one of the big guys. [00:09:03] Speaker C: So they put you there. [00:09:04] Speaker B: So I have to guard the big guys. And there are some giants who come in who just dwarf me and I've. [00:09:09] Speaker C: Got to guard them high or like size or both? [00:09:12] Speaker B: Both. Both. Scott Engman will come in sometimes and people like you, other people like that are just bigger than me. But that aside, like, I don't want to go down in the blender and get hacked to pieces. I'm. I'm wimpy like that. I wish that my shot were better. [00:09:29] Speaker C: I'm not. I get asked if I played basketball a lot and I'm always like, nope, I never did. I just wasn't my jam. I'll be the first to admit this about myself. Athletics are, we're never really my strongest. [00:09:45] Speaker B: You like volleyball? [00:09:46] Speaker C: I love volleyball. I would have played volleyball if it was a sport that was offered and in high school when I was going through. But men's volleyball wasn't a thing. [00:09:57] Speaker B: Sure that's fair enough. [00:09:58] Speaker C: I love volleyball. As I've gotten older, especially I. And if they had it, I would have definitely played. [00:10:03] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:10:04] Speaker C: For sure. No doubt in my mind I would have done it, but. [00:10:06] Speaker B: Interesting. [00:10:07] Speaker C: It's not. Wasn't in the cards. My volleyball career has been snuffed short as of late anyways. [00:10:13] Speaker B: Yeah. You know, there's a lot of cars I've gotten in that were too small for me as a. As a large gentleman. [00:10:19] Speaker C: Yeah. I've had that problem. My car is relatively small. [00:10:22] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:10:23] Speaker C: But I like it. [00:10:24] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:10:25] Speaker C: I like my. I like my small car. [00:10:26] Speaker B: I kind of like a small car, too. But, you know, there's some. I've been stuck in and it's just. It is difficult. This is not going to work. I'm too big for this situation. [00:10:34] Speaker C: Yeah. Like a Fiat. [00:10:36] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I rode once in my. In the back of my friends. Like, I think it was a Camaro. And there you go. And it was a very uncomfortable ride. I'll just say that. [00:10:45] Speaker C: You did not Fiat in the Fiat. [00:10:48] Speaker B: Oh, good one. [00:10:49] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:10:51] Speaker B: Thank you. [00:10:51] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:10:52] Speaker B: There it is. [00:10:52] Speaker C: Look at that. [00:10:53] Speaker B: What else we got going on today in the pod? [00:10:55] Speaker C: All right. Well, we had. We had football happen. It was the thing that occurred. [00:11:01] Speaker B: Football over this weekend. [00:11:03] Speaker C: The regular. The regular season's done. So if your team lost or is out of playoffs and you're not going to be able to watch them again because they had a rough year. Yep. For different reasons. [00:11:20] Speaker B: I know. [00:11:21] Speaker C: Injuries. [00:11:22] Speaker B: Yep. [00:11:24] Speaker C: Tough schedule. [00:11:25] Speaker B: Let it out. [00:11:26] Speaker C: Some bad calls by the refs. [00:11:29] Speaker B: This is only 18 teams. Fit that. [00:11:32] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:11:33] Speaker B: Fit that description. [00:11:35] Speaker C: You know, there's always next year. [00:11:40] Speaker B: You know, I heard a take. And we will get into that later. If we ever talk. If we talk lines. There's always a May. Like talking about the line. But I've looked at some scenarios that really suggest that the Lions could very well end up with a very favorable cap situation and the potential to make moves this season. You know, and I'm hopeful that they. [00:11:58] Speaker C: I will be honest. [00:11:58] Speaker B: They do. [00:11:59] Speaker C: Taking a sneak peek at the mailbag. No one's talking about the Lions. And why would you. They're not really relevant anymore. [00:12:04] Speaker B: That's fair. [00:12:04] Speaker C: And I get it. [00:12:05] Speaker B: So we should talk about them first and foremost because that's. No one wants to know. [00:12:09] Speaker C: I got a cope for a second. [00:12:10] Speaker B: Okay. [00:12:11] Speaker C: I will say they are in a much better position despite their record. [00:12:17] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:12:18] Speaker C: They are clearly still a good team. [00:12:20] Speaker B: Correct. [00:12:21] Speaker C: That is in there. That had a really hard schedule and they had. They had the injury bug. [00:12:27] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:12:28] Speaker C: On their. On their defense. I. Honestly, if I'm looking at the Lions now, they have very clear problems that are all very fixable in the off season. And they don't need a lot, you know. [00:12:42] Speaker B: Right. [00:12:42] Speaker C: They really don't. [00:12:43] Speaker B: It's true. So stay healthy. Maybe improve a few pieces. [00:12:47] Speaker C: They're getting the advantage of that fourth in the division schedule next year, too. I looked ahead. They have a very nice schedule. [00:12:58] Speaker B: It is good. [00:12:59] Speaker C: It is way better than what it was this year. I immediately looked at it and I was like, there's 12 wins on their. There should be. [00:13:06] Speaker B: Brad Holmes does not have the hardest job in the world right now to try and put Lions in a good position. I would encourage him if he were like, you know, jumping on this pod and saying, hey, what got. What should I do, guys? [00:13:16] Speaker C: What should I do? [00:13:16] Speaker B: Brad, go for it, man. Like, you've got a lot to work with. [00:13:19] Speaker C: Seize this opportunity and you have a schedule that's in front of you next year that's probably going to be nice and easy. You need to take advantage of that. [00:13:28] Speaker B: You do. And you've got a lot of young talent on the roster right now. You got a lot of guys who are signed through, you know, that you don't need to worry about. There's some who will retire. That should open up cap space. [00:13:37] Speaker C: They're probably going to lose Decker. If I. If I'm. From my vantage point, they. It's the trenches. [00:13:44] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:13:44] Speaker C: They need to shore up both sides of the trenches 100%. And. And if they do that, I actually have pretty good confidence that they'll. They'll pull out on top again. I would. I wouldn't be shocked to see them back in the playoffs next year. I should. We should see them back in the playoffs next year. [00:13:59] Speaker B: 100% agree. [00:14:00] Speaker C: There's no doubt about it. I can understand why they lost out this year. NFC north is the only division this year that's above. Every team is above.500. [00:14:10] Speaker B: That's crazy. [00:14:11] Speaker C: So clearly a tough, tough road there. [00:14:14] Speaker B: Very much. Even the Vikings turned it around. It got about 500. [00:14:19] Speaker C: I think it was like 20, 23. The AFC north is only the second team or the second division to have every team above.500 since, like, the merger. [00:14:32] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:14:33] Speaker C: So it doesn't happen often where you have four good teams at least slightly above average. [00:14:40] Speaker B: We expected this one to be competitive, and from the start, everyone thought NFC north. That's where it's going to be interesting. And it was. [00:14:46] Speaker C: Yeah, it really was completely flipped from last year by the way. [00:14:49] Speaker B: How about that? [00:14:50] Speaker C: So the lines are on the bottom. The Bears are on top. [00:14:53] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:14:53] Speaker C: I'm not convinced the Bears, if that was their best effort, by the way, they're in trouble in the playoffs because they did not look great. [00:14:59] Speaker B: No, that's true. [00:15:00] Speaker C: So. But that's a team that's no longer in it and I think that's about as much air time as we can give them right now. [00:15:07] Speaker B: That's fair. [00:15:08] Speaker C: So let's get into the mailbag. We got a couple good questions in here. Some of these are just straight up. This is who we think is going to be in the big game. [00:15:19] Speaker B: Okay. [00:15:19] Speaker C: They're going right for it. So Tim DeWitt writes in Texas vs Philly Super bowl with Houston as the winner. [00:15:29] Speaker B: I like that. [00:15:31] Speaker C: I thought that was very bold. And then he also adds, however, I like the Seahawks with their defense, so I could see them over Philly. [00:15:38] Speaker B: Okay. Okay. I like this. The seeing the Texans in the super bowl right now. The Texans and Jags are very much in the contest and they are two of the four teams in the NFL who have never even appeared in a Super bowl contest. [00:15:53] Speaker C: They have an absolute monster defense. [00:15:57] Speaker B: They do. [00:15:58] Speaker C: Could be the best in the league right now. [00:16:01] Speaker B: The Texans are on a nine game win streak. It's incredible. Yeah, they haven't lost a game since the 33 point loss to Denver on November 2nd. It's been a long time since they lost a game, folks. The Texas are hot. [00:16:15] Speaker C: Yeah. They got a nice easy game this weekend. I think it's easy. We could talk about that later. [00:16:22] Speaker B: Tim. I like the take. Texans versus the very. Who would be shocked by this? [00:16:26] Speaker C: I don't actually. This was. This is the thing about this year. I don't think I would be shocked about any of them. [00:16:31] Speaker B: This is what I was thinking 100% with you. I want to even go further than that. [00:16:34] Speaker C: Ooh, go, go there. [00:16:36] Speaker B: I think in my memory this is the best postseason slate that we've seen. [00:16:45] Speaker C: I would agree in terms of. [00:16:49] Speaker B: Anybody could win this. [00:16:49] Speaker C: Anybody could win it. I do not feel like there is any clear favorite. [00:16:54] Speaker B: Agreed. [00:16:55] Speaker C: And I would really only say there's only one team that probably shouldn't be there. [00:17:00] Speaker B: Panthers. [00:17:01] Speaker C: Panthers. [00:17:03] Speaker B: I'm not a real big Steelers believer that they're going to go on a run. [00:17:07] Speaker C: I'm not a big Steelers. [00:17:09] Speaker B: I'm a little skeptical. Maybe the packers could go all the way, but ultimately the Panthers we are sure kind of. You know, you're in there, like got. [00:17:18] Speaker C: In there because you won. You lost the game. That You. If you just won, you were in anyways, but you lost it. And then you had to wait. [00:17:26] Speaker B: Right. [00:17:26] Speaker C: For the Falcons to bail you out. Like, you didn't even get in there on your own merit. [00:17:31] Speaker B: That's. Yes. It's amazing. So it is amazing what they did. And we. We agree on that. But the rest, literally every other team could do this. [00:17:41] Speaker C: Yeah. And each team, I feel like, has a positive, but also some flaws. Like last year. [00:17:49] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:17:49] Speaker C: We hit the playoffs even though the Lions were the first round by. I had already thought the Eagles are going. They are going to be this the team because of how good their defense was. [00:18:00] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:18:01] Speaker C: And how dominant their offense was playing. [00:18:03] Speaker B: True. [00:18:03] Speaker C: I just. I didn't see anybody beating them. [00:18:06] Speaker B: Correct. [00:18:06] Speaker C: Which is exactly what happened. [00:18:07] Speaker B: Agreed, agreed, agreed. [00:18:08] Speaker C: And then years prior, the Chiefs were just the Chiefs. You just kind of assumed they were inevitable. This year, I'm just like, it could be the Broncos, maybe. You know, I wouldn't be shocked. I wouldn't be shocked by the Patriots. I wouldn't be shocked by Duvall. [00:18:23] Speaker B: I'm totally with you. They are playing great football right now, and it's kind of amazing. So there really is only, I'm saying, one team that would shock me to make the super bowl, and that's going to be the Carolina Panthers. Every other team, you told me, they win, you. You knock me out and I go in a coma for a few weeks, and I wake up after the super bowl and you say, oh, it was the Rams. Oh, it was the Jags. Oh, it was the Texans. Oh, you know, the Bills or the Eagles or any of these teams. None of them would shock me. [00:18:53] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:18:53] Speaker B: And that's why I think that this is the most interesting and exciting postseason that we have seen in decades. [00:19:01] Speaker C: Yeah. I'm gonna be very. And I think this weekend's slate, which we'll talk about, I'm very excited for. Very excited for this weekend. One, because you got college football playoffs. Any college football fans out there? [00:19:13] Speaker B: Crickets. Crickets. [00:19:14] Speaker C: Marshall's not here. If we had Marshall here, he would be all about that. Actually, maybe not, because maybe not. [00:19:20] Speaker B: He's kind of boycotting right now. [00:19:21] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:19:22] Speaker B: Notre Dame thing. [00:19:23] Speaker C: Yeah. That's too bad. [00:19:24] Speaker B: Yeah. But the Hoosiers, man, that's kind of cool to see. [00:19:27] Speaker C: They are cruising. They what? Did they just destroy Alabama? Alabama. [00:19:32] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:19:32] Speaker C: And now everybody's like, alabama should have never been there. It's like, yeah, they. Probably not, but it's the sec. So what are you gonna do? [00:19:40] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't know. [00:19:41] Speaker C: Anyways, but Tim could take, like, it. Very defensive, heavy teams. He likes his defense. I wonder where I got my defense. Championship. Father. Like father, like son. [00:19:55] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:19:56] Speaker C: Addison goes in a different route. He says Broncos versus Seahawks, super bowl with Seattle taking it all. But he really likes the Jags and Trevor Lawrence right now. [00:20:07] Speaker B: Okay. [00:20:07] Speaker C: So I do think he's kind of pulling a little bit for the Jags. He's been wanting us to talk more about the Jags a lot. [00:20:15] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:20:16] Speaker C: And I get why they're fun. [00:20:19] Speaker B: I can't help but kind of hope that either the Texans or Jags take make it to the super bowl, because that's history. We're witnessing history. [00:20:26] Speaker C: One of them would be there for. [00:20:27] Speaker B: One of those franchises. These are the, like, late 90s expansion teams. So unlike the Browns and Lions, who existed a long time in the league before that. But these are the newer teams. Haven't had as much time to try, but still, they've never even been to the playoffs. [00:20:41] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:20:41] Speaker B: They've both made it to conference championships before, is my recollection. But never a Super bowl appearance. So that would be history. And this is Super Bowl 60, right? Right. Isn't it? [00:20:51] Speaker C: Is it? Oh, man. Wow. [00:20:52] Speaker B: I heard that on the radio or something. It's 60. That's crazy. So the Lions are waiting for one of those. [00:20:57] Speaker C: The Lions are going to wait nine more years before they get theirs. Nice. Everybody's going to want to win that one. [00:21:05] Speaker B: So everybody's liking the defensive teams right now. I think that Addison says he likes the Jags, but is picking defensive teams with the Broncos and Seahawks. [00:21:13] Speaker C: I do feel like. I mean, those are really solid defense. I'm a little. I don't know. I'm a little skeptical on the Broncos. [00:21:20] Speaker B: I find it hard for me to buy in. [00:21:23] Speaker C: They're. They're. I mean, they're first run by, so they're clearly good. I mean, you can't, like, say they're bad. [00:21:29] Speaker B: Right? [00:21:29] Speaker C: But I. Every time I watch them, I'm never, like, blown away by them. I always feel like they're playing. I almost want to go back and look at their. Their wins. Like, how did they. Like, what was the score? Because I feel like they're always just, like, gritting it out and, like, barely getting through and kind of having, like, luck go a little bit of the way. I don't quote me on that. I don't actually know. So. [00:21:54] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:21:54] Speaker C: But I know their defense is pretty good, which is probably why there's a lot of close games. I'm impressed that Sean Payton's been able to turn that team around from the Russell Wilson days of what, two years ago when they were atrocious. [00:22:08] Speaker B: So, yeah, their. Their record is a lot of close games. A lot of close games. A lot of one score games. [00:22:15] Speaker C: That's what I thought. [00:22:16] Speaker B: Scores of 18, 15, 10 to 7, 22 to 19, 27, 26, 24, 17. You know, these are close. These are close one score games. A lot of low scoring. They are a very competitive team. I feel like they can hold up against anybody but their defensive strength right now. Yeah. [00:22:41] Speaker C: Addison also writes in, is New England actually this good right now? The record clearly shows they deserve to be here, but anytime I watch them, I'm not blown away. Very similar to what we were just saying about the Broncos. [00:22:52] Speaker B: Right. It's so funny that your brother talks the same way you do. [00:22:56] Speaker C: It's like we're related. [00:22:57] Speaker B: I know. [00:22:58] Speaker C: I didn't even read that question before I said everything I just said. I want to be very clear on this. Just happened to be. [00:23:06] Speaker B: We talked a little New England last week. [00:23:08] Speaker C: We did. I think Drake May is the real deal. [00:23:11] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:23:11] Speaker C: I like Drake May way more than Bo Nicks. So I do think, and I think I personally like Vrabel way more than I like Sean Payton. [00:23:20] Speaker B: Okay. [00:23:22] Speaker C: Sean Payne's obviously got the pedigree, but. [00:23:24] Speaker B: No question about it. Yeah, he had a Hall of Fame. [00:23:27] Speaker C: Quarterback over there, though, so, yeah, there's no question. Maybe he's got another one. Who knows? [00:23:30] Speaker B: I don't know. I think he's brought some stability and function to, to this organization. It was a little directionless for a good number of years post Peyton Mann. The Broncos were kind of a directionless, silly franchise. They were not good. They have not been good for a while. And Sean Payton has come in and got to credit him for bringing at least some stability and direction. Yeah. So it seems that that team has an identity at last. And. And this isn't even exactly what I expected their identity to be, but hey, they got it. They've got things figured out. [00:23:59] Speaker C: New England's got to be pretty good because they have an MVP candidate on their team right now. I mean, it's between Stafford and Drake May, so who the heck. And I don't know who's going to win the mvp. Obviously, I think the current odds are towards Stafford because he had a big game this past weekend, but he's really. [00:24:20] Speaker B: Got the counting stats and, and, but at the same time, he's the number five seed, so Drake may get the number two seed right he did. [00:24:31] Speaker C: I think Drake Mays got the wins, but I think some people are thinking the schedules. New England had a really easy schedule. I said this at the beginning of the year. [00:24:40] Speaker B: We talked about it last week. Yeah. [00:24:42] Speaker C: That they. They do have us. They had a soft skill, but they had some tough games in there. I mean, they beat Buffalo in Buffalo. [00:24:48] Speaker B: Yeah, that's true. Some impressive moments. [00:24:51] Speaker C: Right. So I feel like they beat someone else, too. I don't have their schedule in front. [00:24:55] Speaker B: Of me, but I think. I think the sense that we have is that maybe that they are. That their perception is a little inflated right now. They might not be as good as their record suggests, but I. I think they deserve to be in the postseason. [00:25:05] Speaker C: I do. And I think they'll actually. I wouldn't be surprised if they win a game or two or I. Again, they could be in the AFC Championship game for all I know, but. [00:25:14] Speaker B: Not gonna be shocked. [00:25:15] Speaker C: Not gonna be shocked. [00:25:15] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:25:16] Speaker C: What else do we got here? [00:25:17] Speaker B: Eric Giannzio writes which quarterback is more important to their team's success. He nominates three. Jalen hurts, Josh Allen or Drake May. G Writes, I vote maybe. What do you think, Ian? Of these three quarterbacks on these playoff teams, who's more important to that team? [00:25:37] Speaker C: I think Josh Allen is more important. [00:25:40] Speaker B: That's a great. I'm gonna take Jalen Hurts out of it just because. Oh, I don't think he holds up against the other two. [00:25:47] Speaker C: No. Saquon Barkley, by the way, is that offense. And if you haven't noticed, Saquon Barkley hasn't really been a big factor this year, and thus their offense has not been a big factor. [00:26:00] Speaker B: Yeah. There's no question about it. But it's still a loaded offense. [00:26:04] Speaker C: He's got great receivers. [00:26:06] Speaker B: Yeah. Some of the best receivers in the game. You could put a chump quarterback back there and he'd be. [00:26:12] Speaker C: But yet I feel like they're not exploding like they were even just last year. [00:26:18] Speaker B: The Eagles are just. They dumbfound me. [00:26:22] Speaker C: They're weird. [00:26:23] Speaker B: They should be better than they are. And that's. That's the opposite of what I'd say about these other teams. They should be worse than they are. [00:26:29] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:26:29] Speaker B: And that's because I think they have under center and elevator a team that lifts up everyone around them. Josh Allen and Drake May. [00:26:37] Speaker C: Eric G. Added that he thinks there's more talent in Philly and Buffalo. I don't think that's true. At least not for Buffalo. His receivers are a bunch of nobodies. [00:26:49] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:26:49] Speaker C: I mean, Shakir is probably his best actual ride receiver. [00:26:54] Speaker B: Right. [00:26:54] Speaker C: And he. Shakir isn't even a wide receiver. One. He's a two at best. [00:26:58] Speaker B: Sure. [00:26:59] Speaker C: Most of the time playing like that. He has a couple good games here and there. He's got two good tight ends. [00:27:07] Speaker B: Right. Right. [00:27:08] Speaker C: And he's got a great running back. I mean, I can give him that. He's got an excellent running back behind him. [00:27:13] Speaker B: Yes. [00:27:14] Speaker C: But that would be the only other piece that I would say Josh Allen has going for him is a good running back in James Cook. [00:27:21] Speaker B: That is true. I'm. I'm with you all the way. [00:27:24] Speaker C: Versus, I think Drake May has got the advantage of having a pretty solid receiver in Diggs. [00:27:29] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:27:29] Speaker C: That he gets to throw to. I feel like Henderson is that. That's the running back over there, I think has been doing pretty good this year. [00:27:36] Speaker B: Very good. He's had a great season. [00:27:38] Speaker C: So. I don't know if I agree with the May or at least I don't agree with saying that Buffalo has more talent. I don't think that's true. [00:27:48] Speaker B: I think I'm. I work. I feel like we're splitting hairs because probably they do look like similar teams. And. And the. A lot of the compliments that you could give to one, you could. You could give to the other at the same time. [00:28:02] Speaker C: Sure. [00:28:03] Speaker B: Athletic quarterbacks with. With big arms, the ability to, you know, get it done with their legs. And that's really hard to say. I don't know. I. I feel like Josh Allen has more. Have proved. Has proven this for a longer period of time with more different Bills rosters. So we've got a lot of consistency. Year after year, that roster continues to change and evolve. Josh is still there and he's still doing his thing and he performs very consistently. [00:28:32] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:28:32] Speaker B: Drake May, we're in year two. Right. And we see a lot of promise and he could do the same thing that Josh does. But, you know, I mean, if. If you had to have me pick a quarterback to put like I'm gonna. I've got more faith in the guy who's proven it for more years. [00:28:48] Speaker C: I guess I would take Alan probably before May, but that doesn't necessarily mean that's going to stay the same for the next several years. [00:28:56] Speaker B: Very easily. Just a matter of months from now, I could totally change my mind. [00:28:59] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:29:00] Speaker B: And I wouldn't fault you for choosing the younger guy at all. I will not argue with that. So. Interesting question. G. Nice, nice slate of candidates. [00:29:08] Speaker C: And who knows? Alan and May might find themselves on. [00:29:12] Speaker B: Opposing Sides, that is not improbable. And it'll make for some fun watching. And we're not going to get a Bills Chiefs playoff game this season, so. [00:29:20] Speaker C: Which is honestly somewhat of a tragedy. But also, if I'm a Bills fan, I gotta be thinking, this is it. [00:29:28] Speaker B: Exactly. You're so right. [00:29:29] Speaker C: The Chiefs have been their Achilles heel in the playoffs. And I think in the Josh Allen era, every time they got into the playoffs. Correct me if I'm wrong, I feel like it's only been the Chiefs that have been knocking them out. Maybe the Bengals did it one time. [00:29:44] Speaker B: Did they? You're asking me to remember a lot. [00:29:47] Speaker C: But there's been so many Bills, Chiefs playoff games where the Chiefs always come out on top. And it's just like, they don't have that problem this year. [00:29:56] Speaker B: I know, I know. And they've been always. Good game. I mean, oh, Bill's Ravens last year was down to the wire. That was an exciting game. I won't forget. [00:30:03] Speaker C: Like, and this is why, like, people are like, oh, who's going to win the afc? And I. I don't know. I think maybe the Bills. [00:30:11] Speaker B: I. Yeah. [00:30:13] Speaker C: Bring it in up, Jamie. He says, Bills come out of the afc. Prove me wrong. And quite honestly, I don't know if I can. I think maybe if I'm a Bills fan and I'm. [00:30:24] Speaker B: Finally. [00:30:25] Speaker C: I got the boogeyman out of here. [00:30:26] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:30:27] Speaker C: This is it. This is your best opportunity. And you probably don't even have your best team that you've had in recent years. [00:30:33] Speaker B: I will agree completely wholesale. This is not the best Bills team we have seen under Josh Allen. Yeah. But this is the best chance they've had. [00:30:44] Speaker C: Great opportunity in front of them. [00:30:46] Speaker B: Several of the other perennial AFC favorites are not in the postseason at all. Three, at least, who start the year every year as super bowl hopefuls are not in the playoffs. This is your shot, Buffalo. Don't screw this up. [00:31:03] Speaker C: They have. They have a doozy. They have, I think, probably my favorite game this weekend, which is Bills Jags. [00:31:09] Speaker B: Bill's Jags. It's so fun because the Jags beat the Bills in the regular season. [00:31:14] Speaker C: Yeah. And they look hot. [00:31:17] Speaker B: Oh, wow. [00:31:18] Speaker C: Little Fabio with his new grill is going to be rolling in. [00:31:20] Speaker B: Oh, my God. [00:31:21] Speaker C: God. Did you see that video? [00:31:23] Speaker B: I heard about it. [00:31:23] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:31:24] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:31:24] Speaker C: So those who don't know the Jags, a bunch of teammates got a grill for Trevor Lawrence. I don't know why they just. Yeah, they did. They're celebrating their king over there right now. [00:31:36] Speaker B: Yeah, that's Great. So we've got a question. Who comes from somebody named Marshall? [00:31:43] Speaker C: Who's this guy who never written. [00:31:45] Speaker B: I don't know. Should we even answer this question? Okay, we'll. We'll just. We'll let it go this time. If you could add any team to the playoffs, no matter the record, who would the team be that scares you the most? I want to hear your answer to this question. I feel like classic answers, some obvious answers, but someone who's not in the playoffs now insert them and say they would be the scariest. [00:32:11] Speaker C: I'm going to take a very interesting team that I don't think maybe a lot of people would be thinking of right now. [00:32:17] Speaker B: Okay. [00:32:18] Speaker C: Only because I'm not going to take the Lions because I don't think they're very scary right now, to be honest. Offensive, that they're. They're all over the place. Too inconsistent. [00:32:27] Speaker B: Okay. [00:32:28] Speaker C: But this team's defense has been on the rise the past like half of this season and has been carrying them to victories. [00:32:38] Speaker B: I'm wondering who you're going to. I'm thinking. I know who you're going to say, but I used to. You tell me. [00:32:42] Speaker C: I'm thinking the Vikings. [00:32:43] Speaker B: You. I knew it. I knew you were going to say the Vikings. [00:32:46] Speaker C: So their offense is very hit or miss. [00:32:48] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:32:49] Speaker C: But I re. Their defense is good. [00:32:53] Speaker B: True. [00:32:54] Speaker C: And they could definitely ruin some people's days. [00:32:58] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:32:59] Speaker C: I don't know if they would be able to. A team like that. I don't think they could go and win the super bowl. But what they could do is like surprise a team in the playoffs and get all win and knock somebody out. [00:33:16] Speaker B: Right. [00:33:17] Speaker C: And that's like, where. That's why you don't want to play them. It's like, it's not because you're a good team, but we match up terribly against you. [00:33:26] Speaker B: True. [00:33:26] Speaker C: And so we might lose or it's going to be too close. Right. I think if the Vikings got in, let's say, over the packers and played the Bears, I wouldn't be shocked if the Vikings actually pulled out a win there. It's divisional defense is, I think, better than people recognize, and I think they would be. And even like a team like the Eagles could find themselves into trouble against a team like that because they don't have a lot of firepower on their offensive side. So they're going to struggle just as much as the Vikings will. [00:34:04] Speaker B: Right. [00:34:05] Speaker C: So it's just like. That's why I like. I don't think they could go very far, but they could surprise somebody. [00:34:11] Speaker B: Yeah. It's hard for me not to say the Chiefs, like if they were in the playoffs, everyone would be scared because we just have the history. We know it goes without saying right now, I don't need to bring it up. [00:34:23] Speaker C: We can assume they have a healthy roster too. [00:34:25] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:34:26] Speaker C: Obviously if they went in now, I mean, they wouldn't have Patrick Mahomes. [00:34:30] Speaker B: I would. I would genuinely, and I mean this in all earnestness, I would say the Lions, I want to insert them. I feel like as a. As a fan of an opposing team, I would have some trepidation there because the Lions are a gritty team. They're a talented team. They're sophisticated. [00:34:48] Speaker C: A lot of the losses to some of these better teams were close. [00:34:52] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:34:52] Speaker C: They were not blown out by any metric in some of those games. Some of them they probably were. But they played the Rams down to the wire. Yeah. They played the packers and the Bears down to the wire. [00:35:05] Speaker B: Huh. [00:35:06] Speaker C: The Vikings, obviously, for a long time they were in that game. But like they. They tough it out a lot more than people recognize. [00:35:15] Speaker B: Yeah. It's true. I think they're a team that can do anything. [00:35:18] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:35:19] Speaker B: And in a one game sample size, you better watch out. Alliance could take you all the way. Yeah. [00:35:26] Speaker C: So they had. For a majority of the season, I almost had to look the number one offense. [00:35:31] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:35:32] Speaker C: Which is surprising. You really wouldn't thought that based on how it felt like they were doing, but their offense was still functional. And that's like the thing is like, even on a down year with this offense still functional, it really came down to just. You wish their defense was a little bit more coherent and was able to kind of keep it together a little bit more. But yeah. [00:35:55] Speaker B: Great question, Mr. Marshall. Thank you. [00:35:59] Speaker C: Only other team I would put in there would be the Ravens. And I know they just lost for sure. Yeah, I know they just lost. You could argue they probably should have won that game. That was like very much like a. Oh, come on. But. And the reason I would put the Ravens in is because I do feel like when Lamar Jackson plays his best ball, the ceiling of that team is so high. Yeah, they are. So they're capable of just doing so much offensively. [00:36:35] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:36:36] Speaker C: When he is on. [00:36:37] Speaker B: Right. Yeah. [00:36:39] Speaker C: So I would never. [00:36:39] Speaker B: Everything is possible. [00:36:40] Speaker C: Right. And so I would never count them out, no matter what. Like if they got in, I. If the Ravens were actually won that game, I would have also been convinced they could have easily gone on a run versus the Steelers. I just don't know if I Feel that they don't blow me away. They don't. They're not very. They're kind of boring to watch. [00:37:04] Speaker B: Yeah, that's true. [00:37:05] Speaker C: There's not really a lot of excitement. And what I hate about the Steelers is I'm not a big Rogers fan. [00:37:14] Speaker B: Okay. [00:37:15] Speaker C: People know this about me. But. But, okay. I hate when I watch clips of Aaron Rodgers where I'm, like, kind of endeared to him. Oh, so there was a clip. I've seen, like, several clips of him, like, talking and doing interviews. [00:37:32] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. [00:37:32] Speaker C: But there was one after the game. Him and Tomlin are hugging and Tomlin's just like. They're both hugging and they're like, I love you, man. I love you, man. Yeah. I'm so glad you brought me here. I'm so glad you brought me here. [00:37:44] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:37:45] Speaker C: And I was like, oh, a. And then he goes up to, I think, Cam Hayward. Howard. [00:37:52] Speaker B: Oh, Cam Hayward. [00:37:53] Speaker C: Yeah. And great game. Same. Same thing. And it's very clear to me that even though Aaron Rodgers is a little narcissistic at times. [00:38:04] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. [00:38:05] Speaker C: And a little weird. [00:38:07] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:38:08] Speaker C: Some really bad hot takes. [00:38:10] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:38:12] Speaker C: His team likes him. [00:38:15] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:38:15] Speaker C: That seems pretty consistent with the teams he has been on that he is very likable and people rally around him. [00:38:23] Speaker B: Sure. [00:38:23] Speaker C: And so that clearly does speak something to his character as, like, a player. [00:38:28] Speaker B: Right. [00:38:29] Speaker C: To be a team with. [00:38:30] Speaker B: Okay. [00:38:30] Speaker C: And so I have to give him that. [00:38:33] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:38:34] Speaker C: And I hate that I have to give him that. [00:38:36] Speaker B: I know. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm kind of with you and, you know, my feelings are never the same. And we're going to be previewing some of these games in a moment, but feelings aren't. Aren't the same as yours. You know, I spent many years, like, very enthusiastically cheering this guy on, and so it's hard for me to set that aside even. Even as his career has taken different directions. But I do. I don't like watching a Alzheimer kind of end, like, in anticlimactic fashion. [00:39:11] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:39:12] Speaker B: It's. It's really beautiful to me when someone who's, like, given their life to the sport and contributed a lot of, like, great memories and historic moments and all these achievements when they go out, you know, head held high with accomplishments and are remembered for the player that they were, you know. [00:39:31] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:39:32] Speaker B: Like, there's a lot of players who don't get. Not everybody's going to get the Peyton Manning finish. [00:39:35] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:39:36] Speaker B: You know, where you're at all time great. And you get, like, just the perfect end. [00:39:40] Speaker C: You get A super cool win. [00:39:42] Speaker B: Super Bowl. [00:39:42] Speaker C: Jerome Bettis, I think got the same thing. [00:39:44] Speaker B: Right. [00:39:44] Speaker C: Jerome Bettis is probably even better because he didn't play as poorly. Got the super bowl win in his hometown. [00:39:51] Speaker B: Incredible. Yeah. [00:39:52] Speaker C: Right. [00:39:53] Speaker B: But it's a very, It's a short list. That's why you're saying. Yeah. [00:39:56] Speaker C: Not a lot of people are getting. [00:39:57] Speaker B: So that's a high bar. But still like going out, you know, feeling good and, and reminding us all that like, you know, you were special. [00:40:06] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:40:07] Speaker B: And he has cool to watch. [00:40:08] Speaker C: He has flashes of that still. Yeah. Like that's the thing. And that's kind of why you almost can't completely discredit the Steelers because it's like that team has moments where you're like, oh, okay. Yeah. [00:40:21] Speaker B: And I need I remind our listeners the Steelers plan was competent offense this year. You know, Aaron Rodgers is brought in as like a stable veteran who can optimistically captain a average offense to get. [00:40:39] Speaker C: Carried then by your above average defense. [00:40:43] Speaker B: The defense greatly underperformed this year, which. [00:40:46] Speaker C: Is I think where their problem has been. They were relying on that defense to play better than it actually has. [00:40:50] Speaker B: The defense mostly sucked and the offense had to step up. And Rogers was asked to, you know, accomplish a lot more offensively than their. I'm sure their preseason strategy expected. And they did a decent job. [00:41:06] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:41:07] Speaker B: I mean, when was the last time the Steelers got 10 wins last year? No. Did they? [00:41:12] Speaker C: I think so. [00:41:13] Speaker B: No. I thought they were 9 and 8 last year. [00:41:15] Speaker C: I don't think they. I think they got in because they. It started off very. They started off really hot last year. [00:41:21] Speaker B: Maybe, Maybe. Remember? [00:41:22] Speaker C: And then they cooled off. I think they were 10 and 7 last year. [00:41:26] Speaker B: Okay. [00:41:26] Speaker C: But then they were abysmal. I mean they were. [00:41:29] Speaker B: That was the Justin Fields and then Russell Wilson. [00:41:31] Speaker C: Yeah. They were really bad going into the playoffs and then they got booted right out. Right, right, right, right. I, I do think they have a better odds of winning a playoff game this year. [00:41:42] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:41:43] Speaker C: Than they did last year. I have more confidence. I think it's closer. I still would probably take Houston over them, but. [00:41:49] Speaker B: Yeah. You mentioned the Ravens before and I think a lot about the Ravens and they kind of confound me. You know, we know it's a talented team. We know that. Somehow I don't understand how Derek Henry is still doing this. He is clearly an all time great running back. It's incredible that in this year at the age of 32, this is unheard of for running backs. He's still just like destroying opposing offenses I mean, defenses. So he is like a mo. He's a marvel in the sport and one of those guys that we're gonna, we're gonna tell our kids about watching King Henry. Yeah, it's crazy. It can't be overstated. [00:42:29] Speaker C: Years ago, how many. [00:42:30] Speaker B: What do you have, like 180 yards by halftime in this game? It was insane. [00:42:34] Speaker C: Play was like popped off like immediately. [00:42:38] Speaker B: It's nuts what this guy is doing. But the Ravens, they do confound me. I genuinely, I. My, my take on them is that they are just like that. They don't have a plan somehow. Like they have more talent than most teams do and they just like hope for the best. Like we've got more talented people and we'll probably win, so I guess we don't need a plan. But their plans, their game strategies are confusing to me. They seem to abandon the run at the worst times that don't make sense when you clearly have an advantage. They keep. Seem to like, let off the gas at times when you really need to put games away. They seem to like questionable play calls, especially late in the game, mistake football, special teams issues. It's just this is a team that I've lost faith in. And while I look at the talent and say they should be able to beat anyone, I have no faith. I've lost faith in the Ravens. [00:43:35] Speaker C: Yeah, that's. That's a coaching problem which Harbaugh was on that list of. If they lose this game, is he going to be safe now, currently we haven't had any word on that, which would probably incline that he's probably safe. [00:43:49] Speaker B: He probably is. [00:43:50] Speaker C: I mean, I think if, man, Steelers might have Tomlin, he could have just saved himself a job. Who knows? It's hard to fire a coach who's been as, as successful as both of them have been. I mean, they've won super bowl with their teams. [00:44:06] Speaker B: Right. [00:44:06] Speaker C: They are perennial playoff teams. These are not bad organizations. [00:44:11] Speaker B: No, they are two of the most, most successful. [00:44:15] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:44:15] Speaker B: Long term successful, consistent, money in the bank, year after year type teams that the NFL has. [00:44:21] Speaker C: These are two teams that we grew up watching in the playoffs that this next generation is equally still watching them in the playoffs. [00:44:32] Speaker B: Right. [00:44:33] Speaker C: And the Ravens are even. I mean, I don't know if they're better than they were when they won their first one. That defense so good. [00:44:39] Speaker B: Right. [00:44:40] Speaker C: But now this offense is so good. [00:44:42] Speaker B: Right. [00:44:43] Speaker C: But yeah, they're weird. And there's another team we haven't really talked a lot about, but Adam Silver might have something to say about The Niners. Do we have a commission report? [00:44:52] Speaker B: We do. One second while I pull up the commission. [00:45:00] Speaker A: This is Adam Silver, AKA the Commish, and this is the Commish report. [00:45:07] Speaker C: Well, yeah, here we go. [00:45:08] Speaker A: The Niners report. Well, yeah, we had a few opportunities, but to be honest, we squandered them. Honestly, the score did not reflect the game. Seattle throttled us. Their O line and D line were just superior. It's that simple. Now the arduous task of playoff football on the road, probably against Philly rumored to be resting their starters, who probably has even better D than Seattle. It's a tough ask, but it is what it is. Now, under the circumstances, the Niners have exceeded expectations. With the ridiculous amount of injuries this season. I mean, wow, how hurt can you get? I'm just saying, that said in advance of April's draft, I'd like to see a sincere effort to rebuild both the offensive and defensive lines. Anyway, that game was one of the trenches, and this team is deficient on both of those units. Minutes onto the wild car round, battered and bruised. We'll see where this team has left in it. You know, the tank is almost empty. Hashtag uphill battle. This was the chemistry part. [00:46:01] Speaker B: Wow. Okay, how about that? [00:46:03] Speaker C: Oh, Niners. [00:46:04] Speaker B: Oh, the Niners. Here they are. [00:46:06] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:46:07] Speaker B: I can't believe this. I can't believe the Niners are here. [00:46:10] Speaker C: They were again, so quiet. Pretty much all season. No one was talking about them other than Adam Silver. [00:46:17] Speaker B: Right. [00:46:17] Speaker C: On our podcast, which I know. [00:46:19] Speaker B: Which, I mean, yeah, we love that. [00:46:21] Speaker C: For you, but I'll. I'll be the first to apologize, Adam. We never really talked about them much after you did your spiel. We just kind of were like, yeah, it's matters. Whatever. [00:46:31] Speaker B: Yeah, that's what. That's what I was here for. He can talk about us. We don't have to. [00:46:36] Speaker C: But here then they're in the last week of the regular season, fighting for the number one seed again, and it's like, how did they. How did they get there? [00:46:44] Speaker B: They're one of the biggest. How did this happen? I mean, the Panthers making it into the playoffs, the Niners competing for the one seed. There's a handful of like, huh? How did this happen? Out the Colts not even making the playoffs after the start that they had. [00:46:57] Speaker C: They were the first. I think they might be the first team ever. Fact check me on this, people. [00:47:04] Speaker B: Okay? [00:47:04] Speaker C: That went 8 and 2 to start the season and then miss the playoffs. [00:47:09] Speaker B: Abysmal. Incredible. [00:47:10] Speaker C: They fell apart. How. How did this happen? That was that they Fell apart. Very reminiscent to when the Eagles did it, when they went. They got like nine or eight wins and then only won two more games, limped into the playoffs and then bounced right out. Yeah, but. Yeah, I don't know. The. Here the Niners are. Their offense looks fine, but that can only do so much against top tier defenses. [00:47:41] Speaker B: It's true. And they're not the Niners team of recent years. They've been dominant. They've been the team you don't want to play. They've been. They've looked invincible at times in the past. Right now I think they do look beatable, their defense. I still don't want to play them. I don't want my team to play them. I'm hoping the packers don't play the Niners. [00:48:01] Speaker C: Well, they might at some point. If they keep. If they win. [00:48:04] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:48:05] Speaker C: But. Yeah, I just think the Niners, their defense is non existent. [00:48:08] Speaker B: Bosa's not playing. [00:48:11] Speaker C: Yeah, he's not. He's not even playing. [00:48:13] Speaker B: No. He was injured early in the season. [00:48:15] Speaker C: See, that's how much I knew Fred Warner was out. And that's all I really cared about because I like Fred Warner. Right. I could take or leave Bosa, but. [00:48:21] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, Bosa. Yeah. But he. They showed him in the booth. Watch it like up in the. Up in a suite up there. He was. He was one of the first main injuries they had. Then they lost Warner and they lost. I don't. [00:48:34] Speaker C: It's actually even more impressive that despite how banged up their defense is that they're still here. [00:48:40] Speaker B: It is remarkable. Very, very much counted them out early in the season. Purdy was out for a few games. Somehow they still won with Mac Jones. [00:48:48] Speaker C: Jones was still playing. That really actually made me feel like Purdy stock went down when Mac Jones was playing that well. [00:48:55] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:48:55] Speaker C: Because I'm like a little bit. Clearly from my experience, I've watched that team be successful with Garoppolo. I've watched that team be successful with Mac Jones and Purdy. I just. It feels like you can put any decently, slightly above average quarterback in there and they will be just fine. Right. I just think the Shanahan system works with any quarterback. [00:49:25] Speaker B: Yeah, probably. [00:49:26] Speaker C: I could be wrong. Purdy could be fine. It was great for them when they had him on a deal, but then they don't have him on a deal anymore. [00:49:35] Speaker B: One of the great what ifs for me is like, what if Kyle Shanahan had an elite quarterback? What would that look like? What would happen? Would they not mesh? And it would Fail to work or would they just be absolutely unstoppable? [00:49:50] Speaker C: Didn't they have an opportunity to take like, Rogers or something like that? [00:49:54] Speaker B: Oh, that was way pre Shanahan. That would have been. Yeah. A million years ago. [00:50:00] Speaker C: Which I. So what quarterback would you put on that team right now and be like. [00:50:05] Speaker B: I'm saying, like, if we took. If we took one of the top performing quarterbacks, one of the guys who elevates their team. [00:50:10] Speaker C: Joe Burrow. [00:50:11] Speaker B: If we took a Joe Burrow and put him on the Niners, for example, what would that look like? What if you had an elevator? What if you had a, you know, a Mahomes, a Lamar and Allen, A Burrow? You know, Dak Prescott's playing great this year. Stafford. Those kinds of, like, elevating quarterbacks where the team would suck without them, where they are lifting everyone up, they would be so much. What if they were on Shanahan's offense because his offense looks a little, like, micromanaged by Shanahan. Like, you do what I say, you know, you don't do the Aaron Rodgers thing where you like the go off script. Right. Because they were even kind of half joking about it. Like Alec, like Arthur Smith on the sideline is, you know, in theory, he's calling the offense. [00:50:50] Speaker C: Well, there was a. [00:50:51] Speaker B: But in reality, Aaron Rodgers is out there looking and doing his thing and saying what we're doing. [00:50:55] Speaker C: Well, yeah. And they're like. There was a situation where they, they were having trouble with their comms. [00:51:01] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. [00:51:01] Speaker C: And they literally made a play and they scored like a huge touchdown off of it. [00:51:06] Speaker B: Yeah. He looked up, he did the double take. Is it. Calvin Austin was just like, unguarded or gonna be wide open and he's like, oh, I'm going to my wide open guy. Touchdown. So when you've got a veteran quarterback like that who's. Who can just like, call the shots to do the Peyton Manning Generals kind of thing. I don't know. Does that work in the Shanahan system? But it's a great what if to me. Like, what if Kyle Shanahan, one of the great model offensive minds of our time, had an elite quarterback like, like Sean McVeigh does? [00:51:34] Speaker C: This is. And I think Sean McVeigh and Shanahan are really good to compare because of how, like, offensively minded and good they are. [00:51:42] Speaker B: Very much. [00:51:44] Speaker C: McVeigh had a quarterback at a particular point in time in golf's career where maybe he wasn't the best decision maker and didn't really know how to read everything. [00:51:54] Speaker B: Sure. [00:51:55] Speaker C: And that offense eventually suffered, I think, a lot from Goff's inability at that point in time in his career to really dissect and make great choices. Then he brings in Stafford, who has a better ability because he's older. He's been in the league longer and more veteran to be able to do those things. And his offense then reignites it like, re. Explodes. [00:52:23] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:52:23] Speaker C: And so I'd be curious. It's just hard because sometimes you have coaches like that that it's like, no, you're running my play. This is my play. This is my show. You are just a pawn, and I just need you for your physical talent. I don't need you to make decisions out there. [00:52:40] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:52:41] Speaker C: I don't know if that's. I'm not saying that's what's happening. [00:52:44] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:52:44] Speaker C: But it's just. I'd be curious to know if maybe there's a little bit of it. [00:52:50] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:52:50] Speaker C: Because we've seen Mac Jones not be great anywhere else. We've seen Garoppolo not really do much anywhere else. [00:52:58] Speaker B: Right. [00:52:59] Speaker C: Very much unsure on how Purdy would do anywhere else. [00:53:02] Speaker B: Hard to say. [00:53:03] Speaker C: Hard to say. [00:53:04] Speaker B: Trey Lance is one of the NFL's great what ifs. [00:53:06] Speaker C: Yeah. Like, we'll never know because he never really had a shot. [00:53:09] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:53:10] Speaker C: You know, so it's just. I don't know if your system is functional with any quarterback there. It's clearly a good system. Like, it's gotten him to the Super Bowl. They're a perennial playoff team most of the time. At least when they're not banged up. [00:53:23] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:53:24] Speaker C: So, yeah. Hard to. [00:53:25] Speaker B: It's kind of interesting commission. I would actually like to hear you chime in on this. Like, what do you think? Is it better to rely on Shanahan's system with a functional, like a game manager type quarterback? If that's not just derogatory. Or would the Niners be better off, like, trying to seek out an elite top contender? Because I feel like the Niners could get it. The Niners are one of those teams that could go get a guy if they. If it really thought. [00:53:47] Speaker C: Or are we wrong about Purdy? Is he really that good? [00:53:51] Speaker B: Weigh in. Weigh in. Niners guy. [00:53:53] Speaker C: Tell us your thoughts. Maybe after they win or lose against the Eagles. [00:53:58] Speaker B: Today is Black Monday, Ian. [00:54:00] Speaker C: So sad. There are six. [00:54:05] Speaker B: Six coaches at this time that we are pretty sure of. [00:54:08] Speaker C: 6 or 7. [00:54:11] Speaker B: I am aware of at least one GM who was also ousted. [00:54:15] Speaker C: The Falcons completely cleaned house. Falcons are completely gutted. [00:54:19] Speaker B: Yes. So uniquely. Yes. Right. [00:54:21] Speaker C: Raheem Morris is Out Day Ball and Brian Callahan were out previously. They were fired mid season. [00:54:28] Speaker B: Right. [00:54:29] Speaker C: Pete Carroll one and done with the Raiders. [00:54:32] Speaker B: Crazy. [00:54:33] Speaker C: Jonathan Gannon out on the Cardinals. Didn't even know that that was the coach's name. [00:54:40] Speaker B: They've had unremarkable time. He was supposed to be like a defensive guy. They haven't even. No, they haven't even gotten above average with their defense since. Under his tenure. [00:54:49] Speaker C: And Stefanski's out at Cleveland. Any surprises there for you? Is there any coach you're like, I feel like maybe that's premature. [00:54:57] Speaker B: Surprised that they made this decision at this time. I frankly, if I've gotta go with one, I'm probably going Raheem Morris of the Falcons because to me that they clearly, as you said, they're clean house. They're firing everybody they hired. They fired their gm. Falcons gm. The name escapes me. Forget somebody? Yeah. I felt like roster management was a bigger problem for the Falcons than coaching. [00:55:27] Speaker C: They infamously took Pennix after signing Cousins. [00:55:33] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:55:33] Speaker C: Made a very bold statement like, well, we don't plan on being here again so we might as well get the quarterback of the future. Didn't really work out for them. Yeah, I'm not, I'm gonna, I really didn't like when they did that and then I, I don't feel like it's really worked out for them because now they have two. Pretty much you got a quarterback. That's what Penix has been like injured like half the time. It feels like. [00:55:56] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I think that, I think that one could question the coaching because the Falcons, actually my understanding is they have an abnormal number of like first round draft picks on their starting roster relative to a lot of other teams. But that's, that's doesn't necessarily speak to coaching. That's a little bit, a little bit scouting your picks and a lot of bad luck. But generally this has been what appears to be like a weird directionless type franchise. The overall management of this team, the strategy, the long term vision has just not been there. It's been very unclear to the rest of us bystanding what you're trying to do here. [00:56:36] Speaker C: Yeah, they had no purpose in anything that they were doing. [00:56:39] Speaker B: This is a team that went eight and nine two seasons in a row under Raheem Morris. And I feel like one could easily argue that was overperforming, that was doing better than I might have expected given the circumstances. I probably would have given Raheem Morris a third season with that record. So that's one that I'm Kind of like I can see why you wanted to go after two seasons of 8 and 9, finish in a weak division. I can see you've got some talent on the team. Maybe it should have been better, but it was not a disaster. Yeah, Raheem Morris was not a bad, bad coach and this was not terrible. So I would easily have given him another shot. They compared to all these others, out. [00:57:22] Speaker C: Of all these, they finished eight and nine. Believe it or not. They actually were tied for first place. [00:57:28] Speaker B: In that division on a four game win streak to finish the season, which made no difference. [00:57:33] Speaker C: Yeah, it really didn't matter. They were too far behind anyways. But just funny, I wouldn't say any of these surprise me. Stefanski, you want to believe he's a good coach because he's done good things over there. And so it's hard to tell how much has the owner meddled in with that team and really made them rudderless with forcing DeSean Watson over there and then just the absolute QB carousel that they have been ever since. They've done that. [00:58:10] Speaker B: Right. [00:58:10] Speaker C: And moved on from Baker. Because they were good. When they had Baker, they were good. [00:58:15] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:58:15] Speaker C: They won a playoff game and then it just felt like everything fell apart. [00:58:20] Speaker B: Right. [00:58:21] Speaker C: And yet somehow he finds this team getting into the playoffs. What was it last year or the year before with Joe Flacco? I think that was last year. [00:58:30] Speaker B: That was last year. [00:58:31] Speaker C: Which is crazy. [00:58:32] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:58:33] Speaker C: They had probably no right to even be there. [00:58:36] Speaker B: True. [00:58:37] Speaker C: So I think it's probably wise that it's probably makes. It makes sense that they're moving on from Stefanski because it's been an absolute hot mess over there. [00:58:47] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:58:48] Speaker C: But I don't actually think it's Stefanski's fault. I think out of everybody on this list, he's probably the only one that's going to probably immediately get interest in other teams and will just find himself as a head coach next year just for another team. And I wouldn't be shocked if it's like very much like a Mike Vrabel situation where he finds himself on a. A better team that's, you know, going to be a little bit more successful. [00:59:19] Speaker B: Yeah. He's maybe the most surprising in that he was by far the longest tenured. [00:59:24] Speaker C: Of these two time coach of the year, by the way. [00:59:27] Speaker B: Two time coach of the year. That's pretty rare company. And also compared to all these others on this list, you've, you know, Raheem Morris, two seasons. Day ball, what, three or four. Calhan a couple seasons. Pete Carroll one season Gan. Gannon a couple seasons. Stefanski had six or seven seasons, so by far the longest tenured with this franchise. So it's the biggest deal that after all of that that they went through, they're finally, you know, now is when we call it quits. The rest are more like, well, we tried. That was a short experiment and we moved on. [00:59:59] Speaker C: Stefanski. Wow. I know. Are there any coaches you thought would have been fired by now but are still around? [01:00:05] Speaker B: We went a lot of this season looking at the Dolphins and. And Mike McDaniel down there. [01:00:11] Speaker C: Looks like he's going to survive. [01:00:12] Speaker B: It looks like he's going to survive this season is kind of remarkable. He coach an interesting character. He's a unique coach. [01:00:18] Speaker C: I like him. I think the league is better with guys like him, honestly. I think it makes it more entertaining. [01:00:24] Speaker B: I vacillate a little bit on how I feel about that guy, but I like him in the league. Do I think he. He is a great head coach? I honestly, I'm not sure. I'm not sure. [01:00:34] Speaker C: I don't know. It's been kind of hard to tell because two has been awful, like really bad. And a lot of it's probably. Injuries have finally caught up to him. His brain is mush. Two is clearly. They're done with Tua. [01:00:50] Speaker B: Yeah. All around. That team has. Seems to have been mismanaged. They've like. They racked up a very, very expensive roster in recent years. Greatly underperformed one. [01:01:00] Speaker C: His first season was very promising. [01:01:03] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:01:04] Speaker C: And then they lost. Right. In the playoffs. But their offense was electric. Oh. [01:01:09] Speaker B: So, man, the. [01:01:10] Speaker C: I feel. I feel like everybody. And if I'm like the Dolphins owners in the gym, I'm like, we have seen what this team can do with him. They just need to retool almost. I don't know. He's not really. He. When he got hired in, it wasn't really a full rebuild. It was like a soft rebuild because they didn't really move out a lot of pieces. They had a lot of pieces there. They just felt like they needed better coaching. [01:01:37] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:01:38] Speaker C: Now it's like you're about to enter rebuild territory. Right. Do you have the ability to build this team up to be competitive again? [01:01:48] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:01:49] Speaker C: Because I think if he has another year like this again, I think he's. He's. He's done. [01:01:54] Speaker B: Yeah. I'm with you. Not going too long into this, but I want your take on which of these coaching vacancies is the most appealing. Now. There's not a huge crew out there of like Highly touted coaching candidates this off season. Last year I feel like there were a few more, especially the Lions. Coordinators were pretty hot commodities and he instantly got great jobs. But this year, maybe the pool of candidates is not as impressive. Still, there are now six obvious vacancies as of today. Black Monday. Which do you think is the most appealing? Say you're the bell of the ball out there and you want to coach a pro team. Which job do you want? [01:02:37] Speaker C: My. My initial guess would be Falcons because they do have a quarterback down there in Pennix that you probably are going to like. I feel like Arthur Blank is probably out of all of these. Maybe the better out of the owners. [01:02:53] Speaker B: Okay. [01:02:54] Speaker C: In terms of like how he manages the team and how involved he gets. [01:02:58] Speaker B: Right. [01:02:58] Speaker C: Some of these other organizations, like Titans in Cleveland, not appealing to me. [01:03:03] Speaker B: Right. [01:03:03] Speaker C: Their owners are too hands on, too into it. [01:03:08] Speaker B: Terrible track record. [01:03:09] Speaker C: Yeah. Clearly Giants. Oh man, that's another appealing one just because of the talent they have. They have really good youngsters in dart and scatter. Boo. I personally, yeah. Would love to like those would be great players as your foundation. [01:03:28] Speaker B: Don't forget Malik Neighbors. Right. [01:03:30] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:03:30] Speaker B: Brian Burns and. [01:03:31] Speaker C: Okay, so you've convinced. Okay, so you've convinced me. [01:03:34] Speaker B: Right. Dexter Lawrence. [01:03:35] Speaker C: Giants clearly would be probably then the better. And the only reason Falcons jumped out at me was because of the division is weak. [01:03:42] Speaker B: Okay. [01:03:43] Speaker C: So it would be really easy to exceed expectations probably very quickly. [01:03:48] Speaker B: Right. [01:03:49] Speaker C: And they're clearly not that far off. [01:03:51] Speaker B: Right. [01:03:51] Speaker C: Because they, they have some good talent. I mean, they have Bijan Robinson. [01:03:55] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:03:55] Speaker C: They have Michael Pennix. They have Drake London. [01:03:59] Speaker B: Yes. [01:04:00] Speaker C: You know, they, they clearly had a. [01:04:02] Speaker B: Strong end to the season. [01:04:03] Speaker C: So they clearly have just as much talent over there. [01:04:07] Speaker B: The Falcons have another thing which I tend to. To find I would find attractive in these situations, that they're also replacing the GM at the same time. [01:04:15] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:04:15] Speaker B: And I tend to think that that would make a vacancy more attractive. There's this opportunity to come in and partner with somebody who's. You're coming in at the same time more in line. [01:04:27] Speaker C: Comparatively. When you're coming in with somebody, you're almost having to fit into their mold. [01:04:32] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:04:32] Speaker C: Comparatively. If you're coming in with the gm, you guys can make the mold together. [01:04:37] Speaker B: Correct. [01:04:37] Speaker C: Like that's what happens with the Lions. [01:04:39] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:04:39] Speaker C: Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell very, very clearly came in together, but very clearly. Like we're on the same page. [01:04:48] Speaker B: Yes. [01:04:48] Speaker C: And it has made a huge difference for that team in the long run. [01:04:51] Speaker B: Oh. When those are. When those two roles are in Union. [01:04:55] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:04:55] Speaker B: And working well together, then that team has a bright future. And so there's potential there. The Falcons have some attractor. You mentioned the talent that the Giants have. I think that there's a lot of potential there. [01:05:05] Speaker C: If you like full on rebuilds, maybe. You like the Raiders. [01:05:11] Speaker B: I see a case for it. [01:05:13] Speaker C: They got the number one overall pick. So you're gonna have Mendoza probably as your quarterback next year. You gotta beef up that O line though or they're going to be absolutely useless. [01:05:22] Speaker B: Atrocious. Yeah. Maybe working with Tom Brady there who seems to be, you know, kind of whispering in the owner's ear. [01:05:32] Speaker C: Do you like that or not? [01:05:34] Speaker B: Yeah. I don't know. Is he like a shadow GM for this organization? [01:05:37] Speaker C: Who knows? Cardinals? I don't know. They have some. [01:05:41] Speaker B: I don't know what to say about the Cardinals. I feel like Kyler's gonna move this off season. I feel like that is. That's gonna happen. [01:05:48] Speaker C: Only upside to the Cardinals is I feel like they can use Kyler Murray in a way to get some picks to then rebuild. So you have a better chance to upstart your rebuild. [01:05:59] Speaker B: Right. [01:06:00] Speaker C: That way, yes. [01:06:01] Speaker B: You will probably not be one and done in those situations. Like a lot of times you will be given the grace of like a. A break in season, you know, with maybe a rookie or a stopgap. [01:06:13] Speaker C: The only teams on here, I don't think any of them should touch his Titans, Cleveland. They're atrocious. They're bad. [01:06:20] Speaker B: Yeah. There's nothing to work with. [01:06:22] Speaker C: If you have to pick one, you're probably taking Cleveland because you get Miles Garrett. But clearly it doesn't matter because you were bad. Even with what is probably going to be a Hall of Famer player. [01:06:35] Speaker B: Right. [01:06:36] Speaker C: Who's wasting his career away over there. I don't. Maybe they use him as trade bait. [01:06:41] Speaker B: I'm with you. I'm with you. Those are the worst. The worst options. Hard to talk yourself into. [01:06:47] Speaker C: Keep an eye out. There still might be firings. Right? I don't think we're done with Tomlin yet. I don't think he's safe. If he loses this weekend, could be in trouble. [01:06:59] Speaker B: And John Harbaugh? We'll see. [01:07:02] Speaker C: I'm surprised Aaron Glenn's name hasn't been out there yet. I'm going to be honest. An absolute dog season. [01:07:08] Speaker B: We haven't talked about the record they set. [01:07:10] Speaker C: So zero interceptions. Zero. [01:07:13] Speaker B: Listen, listen, folks. Listen. Listen to this. Listen to this. The New York Jets. The New York jets just set an NFL record the first time in history. This is amazing. I mean, Miles Garrett set the sack record and Trey McBride did something as a tight end. I don't know what. Probably he broke some records, I think. But no disrespect, it's awesome. But the jets, they went an entire season, 17 games they played, intercepted zero balls. [01:07:44] Speaker C: Oh, so bad. Incredible. [01:07:46] Speaker B: This has never happened before. [01:07:48] Speaker C: I saw some of their stats. They're really bad. It's amazing that they got three wins. They're probably. People are like, how did this team win three games? And like Cleveland and Lions couldn't win like a single game. Like, how did they do this? [01:08:05] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:08:06] Speaker C: Some of it sheer luck I think has got to be it because I think these teams are generationally bad. [01:08:13] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:08:14] Speaker C: Their leading receiver, Garrett Wilson. [01:08:17] Speaker B: Yes. [01:08:18] Speaker C: With like 200 or like it was like sub 500 yards. [01:08:23] Speaker B: Yes. [01:08:24] Speaker C: And he hadn't played since week six back in October. [01:08:28] Speaker B: This guy went out for the season still the leading receiver. They're so abysmal defense, atrocious offense. [01:08:36] Speaker C: I. They had to be the worst team to watch. They had to be awful. [01:08:40] Speaker B: Change my mind. [01:08:41] Speaker C: They had to be like. And that's. You got the Raiders and Titans, who are equally bad here, by the way. Yeah. This team still probably was worse. [01:08:50] Speaker B: Man, I hope Aaron Glenn has a plan and turns it around next year. Like, they've got to have something that's this. There's. There's nothing. There's no glimmer of bright. Well, there's the silver lining here. [01:09:03] Speaker C: Like, I don't see they don't fire him before, like next week. He's probably going to get at least a half a season next year. But this is definitely going to turn into a situation where I would not be shocked if he's not fired this year. He's going to get like four or five games in. He's going to be gone. [01:09:25] Speaker B: We'll see. The roster is not great, but I hate one and dones. For a coach, you have to be like an Urban Meyer type where it's just like a disaster and no one likes it and everything is going wrong and there's even like scandals and stuff like that. For me to say one and done makes sense, but for everybody else, I feel like the head coach position. Yeah. You're probably going to suck in that first year. It is so, so hard to turn a franchise around from firing your head coach bad to successful in a single season under a new regime. That's very. That's rare and difficult. So expect. [01:10:00] Speaker C: Which is what makes, by the way, what Liam Cohen and Ben Johnson are doing right now. Incredible. [01:10:09] Speaker B: Yeah. Oh, and Mike Vrabel, of course. [01:10:10] Speaker C: Yeah, Mike Vrabel. [01:10:11] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:10:12] Speaker C: Just bonkers that those three head coaches, first year in their teams are in the playoffs and could win it. [01:10:22] Speaker B: Right? [01:10:22] Speaker C: You imagine that? I kind of hope to see it. I just hope it's not the Bears. I just hope it's not the Bears. [01:10:29] Speaker B: Oh, man. [01:10:29] Speaker C: All right. Speaking of. Okay, let's get into our. What is basically our weekly segment, but it's going to be like the picks at the same time here. [01:10:38] Speaker B: We're gonna have to do this pretty fast because we're pretty long. [01:10:40] Speaker C: We are. We like to. You and me like to talk. [01:10:43] Speaker B: Yeah, we do. There's no one. We're doing it right like Raina. The other thing. [01:10:48] Speaker C: We're gonna do this very quickly. We. You will do this one team at a time. We'll flip flop who's getting each team. [01:10:54] Speaker B: Okay. [01:10:55] Speaker C: Give me one New Year's resolution for the playoff teams that they should make if they want to win the Super Bowl. [01:11:01] Speaker B: Okay. [01:11:02] Speaker C: Denver Broncos. Go. [01:11:03] Speaker B: Denver Broncos need to. Oh. To win the Super Bowl. To win the Super Bowl. [01:11:10] Speaker C: What do they need to do? What's their key to success? [01:11:13] Speaker B: Key to success. [01:11:13] Speaker C: What do they need? [01:11:14] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm really liking Cortland Sutton and I think he needs more touches. I'm not sure he's getting as many targets in a game as probably someone of his caliber and the role that he plays on the team should be getting. So I'm going out on a limb here and I'm going to say increase targets to Cortland Sutton if you want to increase your offensive success, which you kind of need because your offense has been pretty mid. [01:11:38] Speaker C: Yeah, Buffalo. I'm going to say run the damn ball. James Cook is probably your best player outside of Josh Allen. [01:11:47] Speaker B: And you might say, let him. [01:11:49] Speaker C: Let him Cook. Oh, you need to actually utilize that running game to open up that pass because your running game is going to be a heck of a lot better. It's going to be more dangerous for you. [01:11:58] Speaker B: Right. [01:11:58] Speaker C: So I think they need to rely on him more than they have before. [01:12:01] Speaker B: Right, right, right, right. [01:12:03] Speaker C: Jacksonville, go. Come on, man. [01:12:07] Speaker B: Jacksonville Jaguars. Your New Year's resolution. Don't change anything. Don't change anything. Don't do something stupid. Jaguars. It's working what you're doing. Keep it going. Okay. Like, hold this and like it's delicate and fragile in your hands. This whole plan. Stay true to who you are to this. I think it's an eight game win streak that they're on. It's remarkable. They found some rhythm, and you need to keep riding that. So now is not the time to rock the boat and get cute. [01:12:37] Speaker C: Okay. [01:12:37] Speaker B: So resolve to be who you are. [01:12:39] Speaker C: Chargers. You have a lot of injuries going on. Herbert. You have to let Herbert carry you. So this is specifically Herbert. You need to ball the F out because you are their one shining hope. They're kind of a weird team. We don't really talk a lot about them, but they're very inconsistent. [01:12:58] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:12:59] Speaker C: So when Herbert plays well, they will do well. [01:13:05] Speaker B: I agree. Which is kind of a stupid, terrible offensive line team. It's just like. But Herbert, gosh. Like, when are we going to see it from you? [01:13:16] Speaker C: Yeah. Basically protect Herbert. You might actually find yourself winning a game or two here. New England. [01:13:23] Speaker B: I'd love to see it. New England. Here's what I'd like to see from the Patriots. I think you're a best chance for success. I want to see aggressive aggression. I want to see. [01:13:39] Speaker C: That's kind of funny. [01:13:40] Speaker B: Attack. Attack. Like an office field. [01:13:43] Speaker C: Right. Attack on the field. No aggression off the field. [01:13:47] Speaker B: Oh, I didn't even catch that. [01:13:49] Speaker C: I thought you were doing that as a joke. I was like. [01:13:53] Speaker B: My bad, my bad, my bad. [01:13:56] Speaker C: Okay. [01:13:58] Speaker B: You know, so the resolution that I would make for them is to not let up. Don't give some of these other teams that you're going to face. Don't give Justin Herbert, don't give Trevor Lawrence or Josh Allen or Bo Nicks or any of these potential opponents you're going to see in the postseason some chance to get the upper hand on you. Many of these other teams have a lot more recent postseason experience. The Patriots, largely a young team and. And coaching staff. So I would be pressing your advantage early enough. Aggressive offensive strategy, try and rack up points, try and push the ball downfield, and make the most of the talent that you have. [01:14:42] Speaker C: For sure. Houston, your defense is probably, out of all of these teams, probably one of the best. It is generationally very good right now. [01:14:51] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. [01:14:51] Speaker C: You need to ride that. So you need to make sure your offense just doesn't turn the ball over and plays smart football because you will have plenty of opportunities to score. So don't make dumb decisions on the offense and allow your defense to carry you, because they will if you don't keep giving the other team opportunities. [01:15:17] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:15:17] Speaker C: By giving them the ball. [01:15:19] Speaker B: Okay. [01:15:19] Speaker C: I just think they need to be smart because I think that defense will ride them through. [01:15:23] Speaker B: Right. I like that. [01:15:25] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:15:25] Speaker B: Good strategy. [01:15:26] Speaker C: Steelers. [01:15:28] Speaker B: Steelers. Your resolution to get yourself Some postseason success. Trusted. Trust in the Domin Magic. [01:15:36] Speaker C: Yeah. Because it's still there. [01:15:38] Speaker B: It's, it is, it is like bet against him. I dare you. It's, it's, it's interesting over there. You know, I, I, I want to say that there's a lot of this team that is a little disappointing and shaky, and it's hard to really believe in them as an observer. You know, they're, in terms of their record. There are a couple games at least behind the next worse team in the, in the playoffs. [01:16:08] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:16:09] Speaker B: Or at least in their conference. And so they're, they're the weakest link in this playoff slate, at least that side of the NFL. My recommendation would be to trust in your veteran under center. [01:16:24] Speaker C: There you go. [01:16:25] Speaker B: Put in the time and, and do everything that he says blindly. [01:16:30] Speaker C: I like it. Seattle, you have probably the best wide receiver in the game right now, outside of maybe an argument for Pukinakua. [01:16:39] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:16:40] Speaker C: You need to get him the ball. And Darnold, don't see ghosts out there. This is two seasons in a row you have gone 14 and three. You've gone 14 and three two seasons in a row. You are clearly proving everybody that you are a good quarterback, maybe. Great. [01:16:58] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:16:59] Speaker C: Don't lose that magic now. Right. Keep throwing it to your best receiver like you've been doing it all year. Keep doing it right. [01:17:08] Speaker B: Rams, my resolution for you this year would be to remind yourself that you're fine. Don't get too excited. Here. You have one of the best teams in football. You have everything that it takes to get another Lombardi. You have it. So don't get shaky right now. Don't start stressing. Don't try and do too much. You need to protect your old quarterback very carefully. Don't put him in harm's way. You have to win four games to get that trophy. So I know he made it through this season, has played fantastic. Now is not the time to be risky or overly aggressive. You can beat these opponents. You're going to beat the Panthers this weekend even though they already beat you once. But this is a very winnable game. Now is the time to not panic for sure. [01:18:04] Speaker C: Panthers, you need to pray for some. [01:18:08] Speaker B: Here's your resolution. To find God. [01:18:10] Speaker C: Find some Jesus in your life. John, 3:16 needs to be your guide right now. Because I'll be honest, you probably shouldn't be here. It's by the grace of God you are here. You know it. You could probably steal one win off of these teams, maybe even, I don't know. About two, but maybe you have a great running back in. What is it? Dowdle. [01:18:38] Speaker B: Rico Dowdle. [01:18:39] Speaker C: If that's going to be. Control the game. If you want to beat the Rams or any of these offenses that are far superior than yours, you got to slow the game down and you got to make sure that you have the ball more than they do. So rely on your running backs, rely on your run game. [01:18:54] Speaker B: I like that. [01:18:55] Speaker C: Packers. [01:18:56] Speaker B: Packers. My resolution to you would be sling it. Jordan Love loves to sling it. That's his game. That's how Love wins is with. Is not by dink and dunk the type offense. Jordan Love loves the deep shot. Loves to go for it. He wants to get back and rip it. [01:19:17] Speaker C: That's Love it. [01:19:19] Speaker B: That's gonna be the best strategy you'll have. You're disadvantaged right now. You're probably going to. Going up against better opponents. Anytime you win and play in this postseason, accept that and lean into your strength, which is the splash plays. [01:19:34] Speaker C: Yep. Bears, you have been, I think, the number one turnover machine all year. You need to keep doing that on. [01:19:41] Speaker B: The defensive side of the ball. You're talking about. Yeah. [01:19:42] Speaker C: Yeah. Their defense has been a turnover machine. So if you can steal the ball away one or two times, your offense has been. Been good. It's been solid. Capitalize on those turnovers to put yourself just. Just a score ahead constantly. You can beat the Packers. You can. You can legitimately be any of these teams. You've done it to several of them. Just got to keep those turnovers going. Right, right. [01:20:11] Speaker B: Right. Niners, I don't know. Get a haircut. That's. That's all I got for you. [01:20:20] Speaker C: Eagles. [01:20:21] Speaker B: Yeah, the Niners like go home early and rest. Niners. That's what you should do. You should resolve to have a. Give your team a longer off season to enjoy. Go to the Bahamas and. And relax after. After you hand this one Cancun, baby. Come on, man. Come on. [01:20:37] Speaker C: Your team deserves everybody. [01:20:39] Speaker B: McCaffrey with your supermodel girlfriend or whatever. Just like go to the. [01:20:42] Speaker C: Your Achilles needs some rest. [01:20:45] Speaker B: Yes. Come on. You're doing a favor to everybody. Just move on. You had a great year, Eagles. [01:20:52] Speaker C: Your defense is going to carry you to some wins. Everybody knows this. Your defense is so good. What you really need to do is you need to get Saquon Barkley going again. He's had a really down year. You need to just get hot. If your offense can get hot, you can win this thing. You can repeat. You can do it. You have the ability to do it. [01:21:13] Speaker B: Don't forget it. [01:21:14] Speaker C: So don't forget Saquon Barkley is your man. He is probably one of your best offensive players. You need to get him with the ball really quick before we end this early super bowl pick. Who's winning the super bowl right now? Go. [01:21:30] Speaker B: Oh, I gotta make my pick. [01:21:31] Speaker C: You don't have to stick with this. Obviously you can fluctuate, but if you have to pick one team that you think is going to win the super bowl right now, who's going to be. Or if you want the two teams that are going to be there, I. [01:21:42] Speaker B: Want to say it's going to go. I'm leaning Los Angeles Rams. [01:21:50] Speaker C: Oh, I like that. [01:21:52] Speaker B: Okay. [01:21:52] Speaker C: I'm going to say Bills and Rams in the super bowl, and I'm going to take the Rams. [01:21:55] Speaker B: Oh, wow, look at that. [01:21:57] Speaker C: I like the Rams. [01:21:58] Speaker B: Okay. Yeah, I think. [01:21:59] Speaker C: I think they were my early, early, early super bowl pick. If anybody remembers, go back to our offseason pod where we did all of our little time capsules. I can't wait to open that bad boy up. [01:22:11] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh. It's going to be fun. Are we actually going to get some things right this time? [01:22:14] Speaker C: I feel like I got some things. [01:22:15] Speaker B: Speaking of getting things right, we cannot fail to mention that for the first time in point after history. [01:22:22] Speaker C: Oh, God. [01:22:29] Speaker B: Ian won the pick. Him. That's right. Yeah. It's happened four years prior to this. Ian was last place every time. [01:22:39] Speaker C: It's been painful, guys. It's been painful. [01:22:42] Speaker B: This year was a decisive victory by Mr. Anduit. [01:22:46] Speaker C: Double digit, I think, too. Yeah. [01:22:48] Speaker B: It wasn't close. [01:22:49] Speaker C: I think I actually just, like, sailed to the win. I was very nervous going into it because I was. At least this last week I was like, I don't want to screw this up. [01:22:58] Speaker B: Yeah. On another episode, we're going to dive into those picks and I'm going to ask you a little more about whether your strategy changed in any meaningful way this year, because this was a very significant turnaround. This is four years of just not great. [01:23:12] Speaker C: If I can do it, the lines can do it. [01:23:14] Speaker B: Yeah. Anyway, there we go. That was great. We. Oh, do we announce our picks for the. It's too late. All right. Anyway. This has been a great episode of the. Of the show. Blah, blah, blah. Stuff like. And subscribe. I don't know. [01:23:30] Speaker C: Marshall normally does this for like 20 minutes, but we're already long time. Way over an hour. [01:23:35] Speaker B: Way too. We're done. Goodbye.