WEBVTT - Special Teams: The Greatest Show On Turf Closes 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:03.520 Welcome to Special Teams, a production of I Heart Radio 0:00:20.400 --> 0:00:23.520 Greetings and Welcome inside Special Teams with Jason Smith and 0:00:23.520 --> 0:00:26.920 Mike Harmon, is we take another look at a very 0:00:26.960 --> 0:00:30.600 big game in NFL history and the special teams who 0:00:30.640 --> 0:00:33.880 played it. Part of our run here where Mike Harmon 0:00:33.920 --> 0:00:37.840 and I I'm Jason Smith looking back at some big 0:00:37.880 --> 0:00:41.360 games in NFL and other sports history and those special 0:00:41.400 --> 0:00:44.040 teams there playing it. And today we look back at 0:00:44.080 --> 0:00:47.440 the game that really closed the Greatest Show on Turf, 0:00:47.640 --> 0:00:50.440 one of the big playoff games of the past twenty years, 0:00:50.840 --> 0:00:54.200 January two thousand and four, when the Carolina Panthers beat 0:00:54.200 --> 0:00:58.560 the St. Louis Rams in double overtime, the big Steve 0:00:58.600 --> 0:01:01.880 Smith touchdown catch in ot doing it or in double 0:01:01.960 --> 0:01:05.319 overtime doing it, and that really was the official end 0:01:05.760 --> 0:01:08.479 of the Greatest Show on Turf, even though Kurt Warner 0:01:08.520 --> 0:01:10.200 was not the quarterback and Dick from me it was 0:01:10.240 --> 0:01:13.720 not the head coach. So much craziness at that time, 0:01:13.840 --> 0:01:18.000 right the era flopping over Mike Martz, a guy with 0:01:18.120 --> 0:01:22.520 the genius tag until he really kind of became the 0:01:22.520 --> 0:01:25.480 head coach. Uh, and then that kind of waned pretty fast. 0:01:25.520 --> 0:01:29.200 A lot of fights. Uh, and then years upon years 0:01:29.200 --> 0:01:32.920 of futility. Uh for this Rams franchise. It's almost the 0:01:33.200 --> 0:01:35.800 went down to the crossroads, made the deal with the devil, 0:01:36.120 --> 0:01:38.520 and now the devil, you know, like paid up in 0:01:38.560 --> 0:01:41.240 that double overtime loss. So what happens when you get 0:01:41.240 --> 0:01:43.440 front loaded deals? Man, it just don't work, you know 0:01:43.520 --> 0:01:45.080 those front loaded Hey, it's great, but I want to 0:01:45.120 --> 0:01:46.560 get out of this front loaded deal. No, no, no no, 0:01:46.680 --> 0:01:49.080 he's still gonna pay Johnny Damon even when he's not 0:01:49.120 --> 0:01:53.000 playing for you anymore. That So, how did each team 0:01:53.040 --> 0:01:58.400 get to this legendary playoff game? Carolina was extremely solid 0:01:58.440 --> 0:02:01.000 in two thousand and three. It was a career year 0:02:01.080 --> 0:02:04.720 for Jake Delone at quarterback, Stephen Davis and Deshaun Foster, 0:02:04.800 --> 0:02:08.760 where that sledge hammering running game Moose and Mohammed was effective. 0:02:09.000 --> 0:02:12.040 He had Chris Jenkins and Mike Rucker and Julius Peppers 0:02:12.040 --> 0:02:15.160 on a dominant defensive line. Like they went from seven 0:02:15.160 --> 0:02:18.120 and nine and two thousand two to eleven and five 0:02:18.160 --> 0:02:21.000 and two thousand and three. Nobody thought they'd be this good. 0:02:21.000 --> 0:02:23.280 Nobody thought Jake Delone was this good. But this is 0:02:23.320 --> 0:02:26.600 one of those years where that offense everything came together 0:02:26.639 --> 0:02:29.840 at once. And remember just how effective Davis and Deshaun 0:02:29.880 --> 0:02:32.000 Foster were, And I thought, these guys are gonna run 0:02:32.080 --> 0:02:34.799 rush out over the NFL for years. Well, and that's 0:02:34.800 --> 0:02:38.560 just it. Stephen Davis was a guy had a very brief, 0:02:39.040 --> 0:02:42.959 tremendous run in the National Football League. I mean four 0:02:43.200 --> 0:02:47.720 hundred plus yards rushing in in this particular season, and 0:02:48.040 --> 0:02:50.040 he was a horse man. But it was the question 0:02:50.080 --> 0:02:53.440 of how long couldn't that roll? Much like we asked 0:02:53.440 --> 0:02:56.560 that question of any running back who touches the ball 0:02:56.680 --> 0:03:00.120 three hundred times in a years Like, yeah, it was on. 0:03:00.480 --> 0:03:03.720 They won't last with Jake delm I mean, he goes 0:03:03.800 --> 0:03:07.639 back to the year he had nineteen touchdowns, sixteen interceptions, 0:03:07.639 --> 0:03:12.160 and he completed fifty percent of his best yet yet 0:03:12.480 --> 0:03:16.000 through yards and they go ten and five with him. 0:03:16.040 --> 0:03:18.560 Our buddy Rod DP works over at AM five seventy 0:03:18.680 --> 0:03:22.399 l a sports uh Is was the quarterback for one 0:03:22.400 --> 0:03:26.400 other start. So there you go. And this team went 0:03:26.480 --> 0:03:29.120 on a roll, all right. And and look, Stephen Davis. 0:03:29.120 --> 0:03:31.760 You probably remember him as uh the running back who 0:03:31.800 --> 0:03:33.840 got in a fist fight with Michael Westbrook on the 0:03:33.880 --> 0:03:38.200 Redskins sideline Davis went down. It was really really crazy. 0:03:38.360 --> 0:03:40.880 I mean, you look at so many different polls of hey, 0:03:41.000 --> 0:03:43.400 best training camp fights in the NFL history, that always 0:03:43.400 --> 0:03:45.440 comes out his number one. But you go and and 0:03:45.520 --> 0:03:47.160 just look at what he was though, Like he was 0:03:47.200 --> 0:03:49.440 a beast. So yeah, I wouldn't want to mess with him. 0:03:49.800 --> 0:03:53.240 He had four seasons, four out of five years, he 0:03:53.320 --> 0:03:56.440 rushed for over thirteen hundred yards. Yeah, but it was 0:03:56.440 --> 0:03:59.080 still Westbrook was on top of him pummeling him. Yeah. No, 0:03:59.160 --> 0:04:01.000 I know he was losing the fight and why he 0:04:01.040 --> 0:04:03.520 had better range? Yeah, true, he was. This was a 0:04:03.560 --> 0:04:06.640 little more he yet Yeah, so so Westbrook we had 0:04:06.680 --> 0:04:08.320 a little bit out reach. So he was able to 0:04:08.360 --> 0:04:11.760 get that shot and that was it. Last training camp fights. 0:04:11.760 --> 0:04:13.560 We don't get that much anymore. No, we should do 0:04:13.640 --> 0:04:16.719 that special teams training camp fights. I think there's plenty 0:04:16.760 --> 0:04:19.760 of them. I've got plenty of media member friends. As 0:04:19.800 --> 0:04:22.280 you do that. If we asked the right questions, we'll 0:04:22.320 --> 0:04:24.520 find about forty of them. We can do that series 0:04:24.520 --> 0:04:27.760 for a whole year. Carolina goes eleven and five and 0:04:27.880 --> 0:04:31.039 in the NFC Wild Card Game they thumped the Cowboys 0:04:31.680 --> 0:04:34.120 to ten. This is when Dallas had turned around under 0:04:34.120 --> 0:04:37.280 Bill Parcels, and it ended really fast for them here 0:04:37.279 --> 0:04:40.080 in the wild card game. Quincy Carter, yes, he played 0:04:40.120 --> 0:04:43.000 quarterback in a playoff game for the Dallas Cowboys. He did. 0:04:43.080 --> 0:04:45.719 He was terribly through for a hundred and fifty four yards, 0:04:45.720 --> 0:04:49.200 got picked off sack three times. Dallas wasn't great, but 0:04:49.320 --> 0:04:53.240 Parcels was great and Carolina won this game, proving how 0:04:53.279 --> 0:04:55.400 good they are, setting them up for the showdown with 0:04:55.400 --> 0:04:58.680 the St. Louis Rams. But just showing you know, the 0:04:58.720 --> 0:05:02.000 blips on the Dallas Cowboys radar, you know, you and 0:05:02.040 --> 0:05:04.839 I as we do on our show at Fox Sports Radio, 0:05:05.040 --> 0:05:07.440 having some fun of what might have been, uh in 0:05:07.560 --> 0:05:10.960 later years had Lebron James become a member of the Cowboys. Well, 0:05:11.000 --> 0:05:15.160 a lot of folks won't remember that. Joey Galloway was uh, 0:05:16.240 --> 0:05:21.560 just like you said, with Quincy Carter quarterbacking a playoff game, Yeah, 0:05:21.880 --> 0:05:24.800 you would not expect. I mean, Michael Bates, I mean, 0:05:25.320 --> 0:05:28.960 there's not exactly a who's who along here, and Terry 0:05:29.040 --> 0:05:33.159 Glenn was part of this squad, most notably a member 0:05:33.200 --> 0:05:36.200 of your New England Patriots. So yeah, some guys in 0:05:36.320 --> 0:05:40.280 different runs, but went quietly into the good night here. 0:05:40.920 --> 0:05:44.640 So in front of seventy three thousand, a big effort 0:05:44.760 --> 0:05:48.840 by the Panthers in a route for the Rams. Well, 0:05:49.360 --> 0:05:52.160 this is where the story starts getting really good. This 0:05:52.279 --> 0:05:55.920 was the first year that Mark Bulger was their starting quarterback. 0:05:56.240 --> 0:05:58.360 This is a guy who was a sixth round pick 0:05:59.080 --> 0:06:03.480 from Westford in two thousand. Right, uh, Kurt Warner is 0:06:03.520 --> 0:06:06.000 still in the midst of his run, first run, greatest 0:06:06.000 --> 0:06:08.920 show on turf. Everything is awesome. He's still setting passing 0:06:08.960 --> 0:06:11.960 records and he's still the biggest success story of the 0:06:12.040 --> 0:06:14.440 NFL had seen in years. Well, in the middle of 0:06:14.440 --> 0:06:16.920 the two thousand and two Warner breaks his finger. St. 0:06:16.920 --> 0:06:19.360 Louis is off to a really bad start and we're thinking, ah, 0:06:19.800 --> 0:06:23.000 is Kurt Warner is still really this good. Jamie Martin 0:06:23.160 --> 0:06:26.120 comes in in relief of Kurt Warner, but he gets hurt. 0:06:26.200 --> 0:06:28.640 So then they turned to Bulger and they go, okay, 0:06:28.680 --> 0:06:32.400 Bulge save us. Yeah, great, like that's gonna happen. He 0:06:32.520 --> 0:06:35.880 comes in and wins six out of seven starts and St. 0:06:35.920 --> 0:06:39.800 Louis had started oh and five and suddenly WHOA. Mark 0:06:39.839 --> 0:06:43.080 Bulger is pretty good. Going into two thousand and three, 0:06:43.320 --> 0:06:46.360 Kurt Warner wins the quote quarterback Derby and he starts 0:06:46.400 --> 0:06:49.560 the season off, but in the opening game against the Giants, 0:06:49.600 --> 0:06:52.719 he fumbles six times. He still couldn't grip the football, 0:06:52.760 --> 0:06:55.440 was still having trouble with his finger, and this opened 0:06:55.440 --> 0:06:58.120 the door for the team to say, Okay, you know what, 0:06:58.200 --> 0:07:00.960 we're going to Mark Bulger. And even though it happened 0:07:01.000 --> 0:07:02.599 and I get it, and I get that he still 0:07:02.640 --> 0:07:05.120 had trouble, this was the end of Kurt Warner as 0:07:05.120 --> 0:07:07.800 a starting quarterback with the Rams. And it was insane 0:07:07.800 --> 0:07:09.400 to think about a guy that went to the Hall 0:07:09.440 --> 0:07:11.960 of Fame, that went to another Super Bowl years later 0:07:12.000 --> 0:07:14.960 in his career, went all kinds of crazy ways. After 0:07:15.000 --> 0:07:17.000 the Rams, you thought it was done. He goes to 0:07:17.040 --> 0:07:20.200 the Cardinals and suddenly that works out for him, But 0:07:20.320 --> 0:07:23.200 to see him lose his job after what he accomplished, 0:07:23.480 --> 0:07:25.200 I was still stunned at it. I said, I can't 0:07:25.200 --> 0:07:27.720 believe they're gonna go with Mark Bulger. And then Bulger 0:07:27.760 --> 0:07:30.160 goes in St. Louis, goes twelve and four in two 0:07:30.200 --> 0:07:33.679 thousand and three, and it's well, maybe it's not Warner. 0:07:33.720 --> 0:07:36.160 Maybe it is Mike Martz's system that is doing things. 0:07:36.200 --> 0:07:38.480 Because Mike Marts at this point was the head coach 0:07:38.520 --> 0:07:40.440 of the St. Louis Rams. Came in as Dick for 0:07:40.560 --> 0:07:43.800 Meals offensive coordinator and look for Meal wins the Super Bowl. 0:07:43.840 --> 0:07:47.800 He retires, Mike Martz takes over, and he's Professor Mike Martz. 0:07:47.800 --> 0:07:50.760 He's the most intelligent guy who ever stepped on a 0:07:50.760 --> 0:07:53.880 football sideline, just ask him. And now he's the head coach. 0:07:53.920 --> 0:07:56.240 And maybe it was his system, because here's a guy 0:07:56.280 --> 0:07:58.320 that was a sixth round pick out of West Virginia 0:07:58.360 --> 0:08:00.880 and now he's got the team twelve and four, just 0:08:01.000 --> 0:08:03.160 like where Kurt Warner had it, and they were streaky. 0:08:03.200 --> 0:08:06.600 Team ran twelve and four overall, just a couple of 0:08:06.640 --> 0:08:09.080 blips earlier, one and two out of the gate, and 0:08:09.120 --> 0:08:12.360 then out of the bye week, they're just out on fire. 0:08:12.480 --> 0:08:16.119 Where they win was that ten of eleven games before 0:08:16.200 --> 0:08:19.960 dropping the season finale. Just a tremendous run and a 0:08:20.040 --> 0:08:23.040 guy stepping into his own But you know, always remember 0:08:23.120 --> 0:08:25.560 that he got a lot of help along the way, 0:08:26.080 --> 0:08:28.720 beyond the super brain of Mike Martz. Well, and that's 0:08:28.720 --> 0:08:31.640 what people forget about the Rams. As you know, Kurt 0:08:31.680 --> 0:08:34.559 Warner's story got the headlines. Obviously, a guy that played 0:08:34.600 --> 0:08:37.160 in and we laugh the world of American football and 0:08:37.160 --> 0:08:39.000 was bagging groceries. And here he comes and wins the 0:08:39.040 --> 0:08:42.719 Super Bowl after Trent Green gets hurt. But you look 0:08:42.760 --> 0:08:45.160 at the weapons that the Rams had. This was still 0:08:45.600 --> 0:08:48.440 Marshall Fall, Call of Famer, Isaac Bruce, Hall of Famer, 0:08:48.480 --> 0:08:51.040 Tory Holt. Eventually he will be a Hall of Famer. 0:08:51.080 --> 0:08:53.800 Didn't make it in his first year um of eligibility. 0:08:53.880 --> 0:08:56.240 I mean, would you when your weapons are that good, 0:08:56.520 --> 0:08:59.199 if you could throw the football, you're gonna do pretty well, 0:08:59.480 --> 0:09:02.199 you know. So you know Marx, you know, it's Mark's system, 0:09:02.240 --> 0:09:04.880 It's Kurt Warner boy, Mark Bulger. But you had guys 0:09:04.880 --> 0:09:08.240 that can really go get it and and and not 0:09:08.320 --> 0:09:10.800 that anybody would be good, but clearly you have a 0:09:10.800 --> 0:09:12.520 guy who was at the bottom of the barrel of 0:09:12.520 --> 0:09:14.800 the depth chart and Kurt Warner, and this guy becomes 0:09:14.800 --> 0:09:16.120 an All Pro and then he goes on to to 0:09:16.200 --> 0:09:18.120 validate and have a great career. And then you have 0:09:18.200 --> 0:09:20.000 Mark Boulger, who was just a guy hoping to stay 0:09:20.040 --> 0:09:21.800 in the league and suddenly here he is, and he 0:09:21.800 --> 0:09:24.440 winds up getting a big contract because he's throwing tons 0:09:24.440 --> 0:09:26.680 of touchdowns. I mean, when you when you have those 0:09:26.720 --> 0:09:29.920 great players around you, but they really don't get the 0:09:29.960 --> 0:09:32.760 credit they deserve. Yes, Marshall Falk gets some of it. 0:09:32.800 --> 0:09:36.360 But you know, Isaac Bruce and Tory Hilton, they were fantastic. 0:09:36.520 --> 0:09:38.400 That's what made this team so great in that run 0:09:38.440 --> 0:09:41.560 they had. Yeah, Isaac Bruce is number five all time 0:09:41.559 --> 0:09:45.600 in receiving yards hold sitting at sixteen this particular year. 0:09:45.640 --> 0:09:50.960 Almost seventeen hundred receiving yards for Tory Holt and twelve touchdowns. 0:09:51.360 --> 0:09:53.520 You know, when you talk about Marshall Falk, he's also 0:09:53.559 --> 0:09:55.960 a guy that was over eleven hundred totally yards with 0:09:56.000 --> 0:10:00.440 eleven total touchdowns in this season. So even though that 0:10:01.360 --> 0:10:04.640 was kind of getting towards its end run at least 0:10:04.720 --> 0:10:07.679 as constituted there, I mean, they were still putting up 0:10:08.280 --> 0:10:12.920 major points. Marshall folks. Seventh most touchdowns all time combine 0:10:13.040 --> 0:10:16.560 rushing and receiving, So a lot of heavyweights. And not 0:10:16.679 --> 0:10:19.760 to mention, you have that big old nasty Orlando pace 0:10:20.400 --> 0:10:22.840 helping to anchor your old line. I mean, that's that's 0:10:22.840 --> 0:10:24.800 that's a nice way to go and set yourself up 0:10:24.840 --> 0:10:28.440 for some success. So the rams and the bulge welcoming 0:10:28.440 --> 0:10:32.360 in Jake alone for a game. I like that. I'm 0:10:32.400 --> 0:10:35.839 gonna get him the side of mini helmet. He's the bulge. Uh. 0:10:35.920 --> 0:10:39.360 And coming up next, the game itself and the way 0:10:39.400 --> 0:10:43.480 it ends. I can't believe Mike Martz wasn't fired directly 0:10:43.640 --> 0:10:46.800 after this game ended. We'll tell you why. Coming up next, 0:10:46.800 --> 0:11:07.440 it's Special Teams with Jason Smith and Mike Harmon. It 0:11:07.559 --> 0:11:10.360 is Special Teams and the greatest show on turf closing 0:11:10.760 --> 0:11:12.960 thanks to the result of this game that we're gonna 0:11:13.000 --> 0:11:16.200 break down right now, a double overtime win by the 0:11:16.240 --> 0:11:20.880 Panthers in St. Louis three in January of two thousand 0:11:20.960 --> 0:11:23.760 and four. And at the end, you're gonna go yeah. 0:11:23.840 --> 0:11:27.480 I can't believe the head coach of the Rams wasn't fired. Um. 0:11:27.520 --> 0:11:29.560 This was a back and forth game, all right. This 0:11:29.679 --> 0:11:33.240 became a very famous game because of the way it ended, obviously, 0:11:33.360 --> 0:11:36.400 which we'll get to. But this game all along had 0:11:36.520 --> 0:11:39.640 huge swings of momentum. I mean, muse and Muhammad recovered 0:11:39.640 --> 0:11:42.319 a fumble for a touchdown in the second quarter. Jeff 0:11:42.360 --> 0:11:45.520 Wilkins kicked five field goals in this game for the Rams, 0:11:45.920 --> 0:11:49.120 but overall Carolina played better throughout you could tell I 0:11:49.120 --> 0:11:52.120 remember watching this game, boy, Caroline is just better in St. 0:11:52.200 --> 0:11:54.360 Louis is kind of lucky to hold on. They were 0:11:54.400 --> 0:11:57.400 lucky to be in it late, however, a few places 0:11:57.440 --> 0:11:59.280 were as loud as the Edward Jones Dome, and it's 0:11:59.280 --> 0:12:02.240 hey day and the Rams find their groove late. They're 0:12:02.280 --> 0:12:05.679 down twenty twelve and the fourth quarter and you're thinking, Okay, 0:12:05.720 --> 0:12:08.160 this might be it. Carolina looks like it's their time. 0:12:08.559 --> 0:12:11.559 But the Rams score eleven points in the final two 0:12:11.600 --> 0:12:15.119 and a half minutes. They score a touchdown, two point conversion, 0:12:15.440 --> 0:12:19.040 Jeff Wilkins recovers his own on side kick. The Rams 0:12:19.040 --> 0:12:22.080 are driving. They have the ball with one fifty five 0:12:22.200 --> 0:12:24.200 left to go in a first down at the Carolina 0:12:24.240 --> 0:12:26.720 twenty five yard line. So, after this game in which 0:12:26.720 --> 0:12:30.520 the Panthers have outplayed them, suddenly St. Louis gets the momentum, 0:12:30.720 --> 0:12:33.079 They get the touchdown, they get the two point conversion, 0:12:33.280 --> 0:12:35.920 the on side kick. Everything is going well for them. 0:12:36.080 --> 0:12:38.680 The Panthers are on their heels. They're saying, what is 0:12:38.720 --> 0:12:41.120 happening to us? We were just dominating this game, and 0:12:41.160 --> 0:12:44.200 now you've got two minutes to go and the Rams 0:12:44.200 --> 0:12:47.240 have the ball on Carolina's twenty five yard line. Just 0:12:47.360 --> 0:12:50.360 remember this is where we're at right now. They're down 0:12:50.440 --> 0:12:53.640 by three. A touchdown would win this game. Two minutes 0:12:53.679 --> 0:12:56.720 ago they got the ball on Carolina's twenty five yard line. 0:12:57.120 --> 0:12:59.400 This should wind up being a touchdown, or at least 0:12:59.440 --> 0:13:01.920 you'd think the Rams would go for a touchdown in 0:13:02.000 --> 0:13:04.520 this point, which is gonna bring us to Mike Marks, Well, 0:13:04.600 --> 0:13:08.000 you would think, but that's where it's the old let's 0:13:08.000 --> 0:13:12.000 outthink the room, let's go again against logic, And really 0:13:12.040 --> 0:13:15.560 that became the hallmark of Marts after his run as 0:13:15.559 --> 0:13:17.920 a head coach, that he carried that back with him 0:13:18.280 --> 0:13:21.480 to coordinator when he should have just been worried about 0:13:21.480 --> 0:13:25.240 calling place. Uh. Like I said, he's the smartest football 0:13:25.240 --> 0:13:28.200 coach ever. Just ask him. It's true. He's got a 0:13:28.200 --> 0:13:31.360 podcast now where you can you can probably ask him. 0:13:31.440 --> 0:13:34.120 Uh in in the liner notes as you go through 0:13:34.200 --> 0:13:36.280 as well, but you go through the tail of the 0:13:36.320 --> 0:13:40.160 tape and just the amount of yardage and just overall 0:13:40.320 --> 0:13:45.280 dominance here made over two hundred rushing yards for Carolina. 0:13:46.040 --> 0:13:48.199 I mean, how many times do you you just lean 0:13:48.280 --> 0:13:52.600 on the ball. That's hte for two sixteen in the game. 0:13:52.679 --> 0:13:56.720 Two ninety passing yards almost five hundred yards of total offense. 0:13:56.720 --> 0:14:00.520 They should have been buried. But big play. It's big 0:14:00.520 --> 0:14:04.480 play opportunities, uh, and a solid, strong and true leg 0:14:04.600 --> 0:14:06.880 over the course of the game keep you in it 0:14:07.160 --> 0:14:10.520 and give you the opportunity here to well try to 0:14:10.600 --> 0:14:15.439 make something happen. Although as we know, uh it's Mike Marts. Uh. 0:14:15.480 --> 0:14:17.920 This is where things get crazy, all right. So they 0:14:17.960 --> 0:14:21.280 have the ball one fifty five left there at Carolina's 0:14:21.280 --> 0:14:24.040 twenty five yard line. Field goal sends them to overtime. 0:14:24.040 --> 0:14:26.240 But you're thinking, okay, they're gonna win this game. Now. 0:14:26.280 --> 0:14:28.440 They let the clock Ticke and I get that because 0:14:28.600 --> 0:14:30.320 you don't want to leave too much time on the 0:14:30.360 --> 0:14:34.040 clock for Carolina to go back down field. After Marshall 0:14:34.040 --> 0:14:37.960 Falk runs for a first down to Carolina's fifteen yard line, 0:14:38.120 --> 0:14:40.720 there's thirty seconds left, right, plenty of time right here. 0:14:40.800 --> 0:14:43.320 You're at the fifteen yard line. You have thirty seconds 0:14:43.400 --> 0:14:46.960 left and you have a time out. Right. Carolina is 0:14:47.080 --> 0:14:49.280 on their heels, as I said, they don't know what's 0:14:49.280 --> 0:14:52.760 happening right now, and e J. Dome is going absolutely bananas. 0:14:53.320 --> 0:14:55.200 So thirty seconds left in the time out, you think 0:14:55.200 --> 0:14:56.720 we got plenty of time to get in the end zone. Here, 0:14:56.760 --> 0:14:59.400 we're gonna be in the end zone in one play. Instead, 0:15:00.040 --> 0:15:03.200 Mike Marts lets the clock tick all the way down 0:15:03.240 --> 0:15:06.280 to three seconds so they can kick a field goal 0:15:06.520 --> 0:15:11.920 to force overtime. The crowd turns from insanity to what 0:15:11.960 --> 0:15:14.880 the hell is going on in a second? Why is 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:18.080 Mike Martz deciding we're gonna go for a field goal 0:15:18.480 --> 0:15:20.440 at this point when you can score a touchdown and 0:15:20.440 --> 0:15:23.120 win the game. I I don't understand. I don't understand 0:15:23.160 --> 0:15:25.920 how after this game was over, Mike Martz wasn't fired 0:15:25.960 --> 0:15:29.680 before we got to the press conference. After Mike, I'm sorry, 0:15:29.720 --> 0:15:32.440 but that was just stupid on so many levels. What 0:15:32.480 --> 0:15:34.440 the hell are you doing? How do you stop trying 0:15:34.440 --> 0:15:36.760 to win a game? I mean, he says after the game, 0:15:37.120 --> 0:15:38.920 I thought we were gonna go to overtime in our 0:15:38.960 --> 0:15:40.440 home crowd was gonna take us through and we were 0:15:40.440 --> 0:15:42.800 gonna win. Um, you had a chance to win. You 0:15:42.800 --> 0:15:44.640 had the ball in the fifteen yard line, you were 0:15:44.640 --> 0:15:47.240 moving the ball. Well, it's not like you were throwing 0:15:47.280 --> 0:15:48.840 a bunch of picks and you had a tough time 0:15:48.880 --> 0:15:51.080 and you didn't want to make a mistake. No, you 0:15:51.120 --> 0:15:53.760 were playing downhill at this point. You were getting to 0:15:53.800 --> 0:15:56.040 a point where it was inevitable, you were getting too 0:15:56.080 --> 0:15:58.280 the end zone. And you do the Panthers a complete 0:15:58.320 --> 0:16:01.760 favor by letting the take down to three seconds left 0:16:01.880 --> 0:16:03.880 to kick a field goal. Now Wilkins comes in and 0:16:03.960 --> 0:16:06.640 makes the field goal to force over time. But why 0:16:06.720 --> 0:16:09.000 you're doing it? I don't get it. Plus, you let 0:16:09.000 --> 0:16:11.600 the clock tick down to three seconds left, so if 0:16:11.640 --> 0:16:14.240 you have a bad snap, you can't fall on it 0:16:14.280 --> 0:16:16.440 and call time out and then kick it again. Right, 0:16:16.440 --> 0:16:19.800 So exactly, so you blow that twice and I really 0:16:20.560 --> 0:16:23.400 Mike Marts, you know you said it about out thinking 0:16:23.880 --> 0:16:25.840 each other, but this is this is just a brain cramp. 0:16:25.880 --> 0:16:28.800 I don't understand where this is out thinking a field 0:16:28.840 --> 0:16:31.080 goal here? What are you crazy? Yeah, the logic fails. 0:16:31.120 --> 0:16:33.480 You've got two of the best receivers of all time 0:16:34.520 --> 0:16:39.000 and a running back who's also a good receiver out 0:16:39.000 --> 0:16:41.760 of the backfield. Right, you actually threw to him as 0:16:41.920 --> 0:16:46.480 part of this possession to get yourself in position as 0:16:46.520 --> 0:16:49.600 you are, So how do you not take a shot 0:16:50.360 --> 0:16:52.520 to try to make a play to try to get 0:16:52.560 --> 0:16:54.640 to the end zone? You know, not that you need 0:16:54.680 --> 0:16:57.680 any more room for the field goal. It's a thirty 0:16:57.760 --> 0:17:00.680 three yard or it's a chip shot, but plenty of 0:17:00.760 --> 0:17:03.360 time and you had you had one time out remaining, 0:17:03.960 --> 0:17:06.399 al right, throw a sideline route, or even if you 0:17:06.440 --> 0:17:08.679 throw it down the middle, if he's tackled short of 0:17:08.720 --> 0:17:12.720 the goal line, you've still got time to either run 0:17:12.800 --> 0:17:15.000 up and spike it if you get another first store, 0:17:15.400 --> 0:17:19.000 or to call the time out. So it makes no sense. Yes, 0:17:19.080 --> 0:17:23.280 we thought our crowd would be behind us. That doesn't 0:17:23.560 --> 0:17:25.640 like overtime. They're gonna run on the field and they 0:17:25.680 --> 0:17:28.399 get to play. Oh yes, sorry, we can crowd on 0:17:28.480 --> 0:17:31.680 the field. Okay, you don't get a twelve demand and 0:17:32.359 --> 0:17:34.520 you know, the rules of the game being what they are. 0:17:34.720 --> 0:17:37.960 All it takes is losing the coin toss and a 0:17:38.000 --> 0:17:40.760 big long toss, and all of a sudden, you're talking 0:17:40.760 --> 0:17:44.600 about an l off one missed playing. Uh with your 0:17:44.680 --> 0:17:47.320 genius of Hey, the crowd was going to have us 0:17:47.880 --> 0:17:52.480 it really really, We've you know, the Jets, we've had 0:17:52.520 --> 0:17:54.560 some bad head coaches, but my goodness, no one's ever 0:17:54.600 --> 0:17:56.960 said anything like, Hey, no man, I'm I'm a Chicago guy. 0:17:57.240 --> 0:18:02.040 I've seen I think probably all every permutation of bad 0:18:02.600 --> 0:18:07.199 clock management and down in distance that you can possibly measure. Uh, 0:18:07.320 --> 0:18:10.560 this one would rate right right alongside them. And you know, 0:18:10.680 --> 0:18:12.960 the funny thing about it is that getting the two 0:18:13.040 --> 0:18:15.680 point conversion turned out to be the worst thing for 0:18:15.760 --> 0:18:18.000 the Ramps because they get the two point conversion to 0:18:18.040 --> 0:18:20.280 cut the lead to three, So they need a field goal. 0:18:20.359 --> 0:18:22.639 If they don't get the two point conversion, they need 0:18:22.720 --> 0:18:25.199 a touchdown. What likely happens, they get in the end 0:18:25.280 --> 0:18:28.000 zone and they win the football game. I mean, it's crazy, 0:18:28.160 --> 0:18:30.080 but if you would failed and not gotten the two 0:18:30.119 --> 0:18:32.760 point conversion, you could have overcome the fact that your 0:18:32.800 --> 0:18:35.280 coach just had a complete brain cramp. But you got 0:18:35.359 --> 0:18:37.280 the two point conversion, that was the worst thing for you. 0:18:37.880 --> 0:18:40.640 So this game goes to overtime, and this is where 0:18:40.680 --> 0:18:43.000 if you thought that was crazy, this is where things 0:18:43.080 --> 0:18:46.080 get amped up another level. Both teams miss field goals 0:18:46.080 --> 0:18:49.200 in overtime. John Casey Panther's kicker mrs from forty five 0:18:49.280 --> 0:18:52.200 yards out and Jeff Wilkins who you know, Hey, he 0:18:52.400 --> 0:18:55.480 made five in this game. I had him in fantasy 0:18:55.560 --> 0:18:57.240 this year. I remember he was so good for me. 0:18:57.280 --> 0:18:59.239 I won a championship. I was like Jeff, I think 0:18:59.280 --> 0:19:01.359 he kicked three old goals in the final week for me, 0:19:01.400 --> 0:19:04.720 and I was like Jim Wilkin, um he missed. He 0:19:05.560 --> 0:19:08.440 misses from fifty three yards all right. Now, late in 0:19:08.560 --> 0:19:11.600 the first overtime, the Rams are driving, and here comes 0:19:11.640 --> 0:19:14.480 a huge play. They had a first down to Carolina's 0:19:14.520 --> 0:19:18.520 thirty eight yard line. So already with Wilkins missing one 0:19:18.600 --> 0:19:20.920 from fifty three, you get a little bit closer. He's 0:19:20.920 --> 0:19:23.360 not gonna miss again. The guy was that good this year. 0:19:24.200 --> 0:19:26.600 They had first down to Carolina's thirty eight yard line 0:19:26.920 --> 0:19:30.680 and Mark Bulger makes a play that I've seen it 0:19:30.800 --> 0:19:33.320 now again, going back at it a few times, going 0:19:33.720 --> 0:19:36.280 I don't understand what he was doing, and it clearly 0:19:36.359 --> 0:19:38.240 showed that he and Tory Holt were not on the 0:19:38.320 --> 0:19:41.640 same page. When it came to freelancing. Bulger drops back 0:19:41.680 --> 0:19:43.960 in the pocket, he hesitates, and he buys some time. 0:19:44.760 --> 0:19:47.920 He's gonna throw out to Tory Holt, who is wide open. 0:19:48.280 --> 0:19:50.199 Tory hold is wide open. It up a little bit 0:19:50.240 --> 0:19:52.720 inside the thirty yard line, He's gonna catch a pass 0:19:52.800 --> 0:19:54.680 and and it's gonna be now a forty seven yard 0:19:54.760 --> 0:19:57.320 field goal if they don't gain another yard right. This 0:19:57.480 --> 0:19:59.720 is gonna be very easy because Holt is wide open. 0:19:59.760 --> 0:20:02.320 There's nobody on him. Instead of throwing it to him, 0:20:02.320 --> 0:20:04.440 because Tory Holt is expecting throw me the football. I'm 0:20:04.440 --> 0:20:07.920 wide open. He points Holt to go outside, and I 0:20:08.040 --> 0:20:09.920 didn't you. I watched Tory Hult going I don't know 0:20:10.000 --> 0:20:12.159 what he means. He wants me to run outside. And 0:20:12.320 --> 0:20:14.399 what I get what Bulger was trying to go for 0:20:14.680 --> 0:20:17.479 is that he's thinking, if you run outside, I can 0:20:17.560 --> 0:20:19.320 hit you with this pass. And it's not just gonna 0:20:19.359 --> 0:20:21.320 be the thirty yard line. You're ready get another eight 0:20:21.359 --> 0:20:24.080 to twelve yards and suddenly now we're an easy field 0:20:24.119 --> 0:20:26.440 goal range because that part of the field was open. 0:20:26.800 --> 0:20:28.560 But it was clear that Tory Hult didn't know what 0:20:28.680 --> 0:20:31.960 he wanted to do, so Bulger hesitates. And what this 0:20:32.119 --> 0:20:35.680 does is this gives Ricky Manning Jr. The chance to 0:20:35.840 --> 0:20:39.480 come in and make a play. So when Tory Holt 0:20:39.520 --> 0:20:42.640 doesn't run outside, Bulger kind of throws it a little 0:20:42.640 --> 0:20:45.840