Speaker 1: Welcome to Bucks Insider, presented by Verizon. Casey Phillips here
Speaker 1: with senior writer and editor Scott Smith, and we have
Speaker 1: a playoff show to talk about. It is a great
Speaker 1: day to be a Bucks fan. Clinched the NFC South
Speaker 1: for the third year in a row, which is the
Speaker 1: first time in franchise history. It has been a great
Speaker 1: few years here to have these back to back to
Speaker 1: back titles and now, of course most importantly, that means
Speaker 1: they're going to the playoffs. So tell me just kind
Speaker 1: of your takeaways from this last game. Even though it
Speaker 1: may not have been the prettiest win, it got done
Speaker 1: what you needed to get done.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you're echoing Baker there in the in the press
Speaker 2: comes after the game saying it was an ugly win.
Speaker 2: You know, it's an ugly win if you don't like defense.
Speaker 2: But I saw some things that were pretty spectacular on defense.
Speaker 2: Antoine Winfield for the most part, and we'll obviously be
Speaker 2: talking about him, but the defense really stepped up, and
Speaker 2: of course so did the kicker, and we'll also be
Speaker 2: talking about him. But you know, Baker was obviously banged up.
Speaker 2: He had the ribs to start, then he injured an
Speaker 2: ankle pretty early in the game, so he's playing through
Speaker 2: all that. Carolina has a nice defense, a good defensive front,
Speaker 2: and things really weren't clicking a lot on offense, but
Speaker 2: they found a way to win, and that's what's important.
Speaker 2: And the last two weeks on offense haven't been great,
Speaker 2: and Tristan Worf says something about that afterwards in the
Speaker 2: locker room, and his leadership is really starting to show.
Speaker 2: But before that, the Bucks offense had really started to click.
Speaker 2: And I think that this team is confident that despite
Speaker 2: the last two weeks, they can get back to that.
Speaker 2: And they may need to because Philly is a high
Speaker 2: scoring team and so you may have to score a
Speaker 2: bunch to keep up.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's going to be interesting. And so you brought
Speaker 1: up antoinin field junior. It's impossible not to bring him
Speaker 1: up after every game and all the things that happened
Speaker 1: with the Buccaneers, and he just put on a show
Speaker 1: this week. It was splash plays and it was impact plays,
Speaker 1: and I think I can make a case for him
Speaker 1: just two plays individually saving ten points exactly, And I'm like,
Speaker 1: what else do you want in a defensive player than that?
Speaker 1: We're single handedly essentially they are.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's you know, he was named the NFC Special
Speaker 2: Teams Player of the Week. This play is incredible. He
Speaker 2: was twenty three yards away from that player when the
Speaker 2: ball was caught. DJ Shark I did the little next
Speaker 2: gen dig into that, and he he was He ran
Speaker 2: the fastest of any player on the field on that play,
Speaker 2: and he covered the most ground of any player on
Speaker 2: the field. And of course just poking that out and
Speaker 2: you think, well, is that just an instinct? Is that
Speaker 2: just an accident? He described that play and said he
Speaker 2: saw the Chark was starting to hold the ball out
Speaker 2: in front of him. He's like thinking, I think he's
Speaker 2: going to try to extend that over the goal line
Speaker 2: and then I'll try to poke it out. Okay, I
Speaker 2: just set all that. Probably the time it took me
Speaker 2: to say all that probably is longer than the time
Speaker 2: it took for that whole thought to happen to be
Speaker 2: beat his head and then process it and do it.
Speaker 2: I Mean, there's athleticism is important, but there's something to
Speaker 2: be said about a guy who just has unbelievable instincts
Speaker 2: like that.
Speaker 3: That really was incredible.
Speaker 1: And yeah, the look at his numbers, such a great
Speaker 1: job of last week going on the ramp about numbers
Speaker 1: in the Pro Bowl and everything. He even upped all
Speaker 1: of the numbers basically.
Speaker 3: In this game.
Speaker 1: He ended up on another sack and another forced fumble
Speaker 1: and all the things. So, yep, just continuing to be incredible.
Speaker 2: First, first in three categories there among all safeties, second
Speaker 2: and hits. Second in total takeaways because that's interceptions and
Speaker 2: fumble recoveries, passes, defense. I mean, he's he's making plays
Speaker 2: in the backfield, and he's making plays in the back end.
Speaker 2: It's what hasn't the guy done. We've already seen the
Speaker 2: results of the Pro Bowl, and like you said, I've
Speaker 2: already done my rent on that one. Won't do it again.
Speaker 2: But you know, all associated press, all Pro still a come.
Speaker 2: Hopefully there's some vindication there.
Speaker 1: And we saw that I think he broke the record
Speaker 1: for tackles by a dB in franchise history, which is
Speaker 1: pretty incredible. And I know also you brought up Baker
Speaker 1: and that this was a game that was very dominated
Speaker 1: by the defense, and it was so good to have that.
Speaker 1: And that's what you want going into the playoffs is
Speaker 1: knowing that if one side the ball is struggling for
Speaker 1: whatever reason, you have people to step up in there.
Speaker 1: But Baker, I have to say that, even though the
Speaker 1: offense maybe didn't produce a ton I just have so
Speaker 1: much respect for him grinning out that game.
Speaker 3: And I know the rest of the team does too.
Speaker 1: He came in already beat up and got even more
Speaker 1: banged up during the game with the ankle, and then
Speaker 1: we see him running for this gutsy third down play.
Speaker 1: I just think that he shows that no matter what,
Speaker 1: he's going to try to make it happen, and even
Speaker 1: if it's in an unconventional way.
Speaker 2: Yeah, even I can tell you from experience up in
Speaker 2: the press box, everybody around me was the same reaction
Speaker 2: when he ran.
Speaker 3: You're like, oh no, yeah, no, no, no no, because.
Speaker 2: You know he's got the interest and you don't want
Speaker 2: him do it. But then you know he's just going
Speaker 2: to do it. And I think in addition to the
Speaker 2: one I think you're referring to, which was like a
Speaker 2: seven yard scramble on third and six after he'd hurt
Speaker 2: his ankle, he had another play. It was third and one.
Speaker 2: It was a fake handoff to a shot and then
Speaker 2: he was supposed to throw it out to I think
Speaker 2: kaitot and out to the right, just a real quick
Speaker 2: pass in the flat. But he cocked his arm and
Speaker 2: he saw a defender there and realized if he throws this,
Speaker 2: it might be a pick. So what does he do.
Speaker 2: He just immediately tucks it and just barrels right into
Speaker 2: the line, right into Derek Brown, one of the biggest
Speaker 2: and best defensive linemen in the league, and just bash
Speaker 2: it into him to get the first down. I mean,
Speaker 2: that was one where I was like, don't do that,
Speaker 2: but he did it, got the first down. And you know,
Speaker 2: he didn't have the most productive game passing obviously, but
Speaker 2: if you look at a season as a whole, he
Speaker 2: said career highs in the yards. He had more than
Speaker 2: four thousand yards. He had twenty eight touchdowns, both of
Speaker 2: those were career highs for him. He only had ten interceptions,
Speaker 2: and he is one of two quarterbacks in Bucks history
Speaker 2: to finish the season with four thousand yards, at least
Speaker 2: twenty five touchdown passes and ten or fewer interceptions. The
Speaker 2: other one is the Goat. So I mean, it's good company, good.
Speaker 3: Company to be in for sure.
Speaker 1: And like we said, if your offense is going to
Speaker 1: struggle and you have some injuries. You need your defense
Speaker 1: to have your back. It also helps to have a
Speaker 1: kicker that has your back and that this can become
Speaker 1: a pretty potent offensive weapons, particularly when you have a
Speaker 1: guy like Chase McLaughlin.
Speaker 2: Yes, and I'm gonna preface all this the same way
Speaker 2: I did on Jeff and I's podcast, The Salty Dogs
Speaker 2: Shameless Plug. I'm talking about Chase McLaughlin, the Bucks kicker
Speaker 2: for the twenty twenty three regular season. I'm talking about
Speaker 2: his regular season. It's over. There is no gossible jinks
Speaker 2: here done in the books.
Speaker 1: That is a very good thing to preface it.
Speaker 2: And nobody can be this is the regular season.
Speaker 1: It's over because we aren't superstitious, but we're a little stitious.
Speaker 3: That's good.
Speaker 2: Chase made his last eighteen field goals in the regular season,
Speaker 2: finished twenty nine to thirty one ninety three point five percent,
Speaker 2: is the best field goal percentage in team history. He
Speaker 2: made seven of eight from beyond fifty yards, including five
Speaker 2: of five from fifty five or longer. You saw one
Speaker 2: of them there in that game. That's not just the
Speaker 2: most in a season, that's the most fifty five plus
Speaker 2: yarders a Bucks kicker has ever made in their career.
Speaker 2: Connor Barth was good. He was here for five years
Speaker 2: and he did three times. Chase did five times in
Speaker 2: one season and didn't miss his only two misses successful
Speaker 2: unsuccessful kicks. This year, we're both blocked. Yeah, so it's
Speaker 2: hard to say whether those were his fault or not.
Speaker 2: But and he made all of his extra point attempts.
Speaker 2: So a Pro Football Focus named him there first team
Speaker 2: All Pro kicker. I think it's because he basically didn't
Speaker 2: miss all years of those two blocks, and he had
Speaker 2: the long distance.
Speaker 3: Well else can you ask for?
Speaker 2: It's incredible and it's a guy at work was pointing out.
Speaker 2: One thing about him is he tends to hit him
Speaker 2: right down the middle.
Speaker 3: It's not sneaking in right. Yeah.
Speaker 2: I mean, hey, you want the kicker to get through
Speaker 2: one way or another. If it goes in one yard
Speaker 2: past this the post, than fine. But wouldn't you want
Speaker 2: a guy who generally hits it down the middle because
Speaker 2: those are more often going to go.
Speaker 3: Yeah? I completely agree.
Speaker 1: And then also another bright spot from this last game, yeah,
Speaker 1: Aad Diab. I just think we can't talk about him
Speaker 1: enough either to see how he's come on and progressed
Speaker 1: and grown as a rookie, and just the excitement I
Speaker 1: feel like he, he and Collijah both you know, are
Speaker 1: causing about the future of this defense with these young guys.
Speaker 1: But yah yah, his combination of strength and speed is incredible,
Speaker 1: and so when you have that much athleticism, the more
Speaker 1: you start understanding the game plan and the game.
Speaker 3: It's only up from here.
Speaker 2: That's a great highlight package we're watching here. I love
Speaker 2: this And it doesn't even take into account the fact
Speaker 2: that the coaches considered and consider him the best run
Speaker 2: stopper of their edge rushers, and that's why they drafted
Speaker 2: him for the most part, and that's why he was
Speaker 2: available in the third round because he wasn't necessarily considered
Speaker 2: the one of the top two or three edge rushers.
Speaker 2: But he had seven point five sacks. I think it's
Speaker 2: third in the league among trickiers, or tied for second,
Speaker 2: and it's tied for the second most ever by a
Speaker 2: Bucks rookie with Adrian Claiborne, who was a first round pick.
Speaker 2: Just to find this in the third round is just
Speaker 2: such an enormous hit by our player personnel department that
Speaker 2: I'm sure they're just absolutely thrilled.
Speaker 1: By that one, as they should be, and of course
Speaker 1: someone we know, they Hills, are very thrilled they drafted
Speaker 1: Tristan Wurfs, who not only did we ask him to
Speaker 1: change positions and play one of the most important and
Speaker 1: hardest parts of the offense after doing so well at
Speaker 1: another spot, he has conquered that, but he's also I
Speaker 1: don't know if he was asked or just knew he
Speaker 1: needed to do this, has stepped up in a leadership role.
Speaker 1: You mentioned earlier his speech after the game to the team,
Speaker 1: and it's just been thing after thing like that this
Speaker 1: year where you start to see him take on the
Speaker 1: not just do as I do, but also the vocal
Speaker 1: leadership role for the team.
Speaker 2: Both yeah, and I think that's an exciting development for
Speaker 2: the Buccaneers. And of course he became a team captain
Speaker 2: for the first time this year and it seems like
Speaker 2: he's taking that seriously. And what he was vocalizing to
Speaker 2: the team afterwards, you know, he said, great win, everybody celebrate,
Speaker 2: this is awesome, but also, hey, we the offense, we
Speaker 2: need to step it up. You know, the last two
Speaker 2: games have not been great for us, and going forward,
Speaker 2: we got it you know, we can't leave it all
Speaker 2: on the defense.
Speaker 3: Yep, for sure.
Speaker 1: And so we talked about this is the third straight
Speaker 1: NFC South title, first time in team history. So now
Speaker 1: also four seasons in a row of playoffs. And it
Speaker 1: is so crazy as how many people on this team
Speaker 1: only know the playoffs. Yes, I think we have Tristan
Speaker 1: and Antoine that they came in that you're now we're
Speaker 1: talking about them being these veteran leaders on the team.
Speaker 1: And man that these guys, so many people on this
Speaker 1: roster only know the playoffs, which is pretty incredible.
Speaker 2: Said he tells. He tells his story to the rookies
Speaker 2: to scare them to realize this is what could happen.
Speaker 2: You might wait appreciate that's it, because you do. You
Speaker 2: wonder if, like Antoine or Tristan or anybody drafted in
Speaker 2: twenty twenty, if they start to take it. I don't
Speaker 2: think they do, but if he started to take it
Speaker 2: for granted like this is going to happen every year,
Speaker 2: so whatever, this doesn't necessarily come along all the time.
Speaker 2: And Levante certainly won't the one who knows that after
Speaker 2: eight years without the playoffs and didn't know when Bruce
Speaker 2: arians and then Todd Bowles got here that everything was
Speaker 2: going to change and that you know, he could have
Speaker 2: gone his whole career without going to the playoffs, and
Speaker 2: he's well aware of that, so he definitely savors it.
Speaker 2: But speaking of Todd Bowles, he's the first Bucks head
Speaker 2: coach to lead his team to a division title in
Speaker 2: each of his first two years.
Speaker 3: So amazing.
Speaker 2: It's been a nice transition.
Speaker 3: In that regard.
Speaker 1: And I think that we still have not appreciated the
Speaker 1: fact that they have so much dead cap money and
Speaker 1: have still been able to have a winning record and
Speaker 1: make it to the playoffs. I think that's an incredible
Speaker 1: thing to keep in mind of how few teams are
Speaker 1: able to make the playoffs at this and I think
Speaker 1: it's what the Bucks had the most dead cap money
Speaker 1: in the league.
Speaker 3: It's something like that and playoffs.
Speaker 2: It's like they had one hand tied behind their back
Speaker 2: but lasted through twelve rounds of a boxing match. I mean,
Speaker 2: they did it. They made it. And they're one of
Speaker 2: only four team three teams in the NFL currently that
Speaker 2: have been in the playoffs each of the last four years,
Speaker 2: along with Kansas City and Buffalo And yeah, to do
Speaker 2: that with the restrictions that they had, and to do
Speaker 2: so you had to hit on things like yah ya
Speaker 2: dab and Christian Izzy and and that's you know, that's
Speaker 2: how you get it done. It's not easy to do.
Speaker 1: And so speaking of not easy to do, advance in
Speaker 1: the playoffs, that's you know. I mean it helps you
Speaker 1: have a home game, which is a huge deal and
Speaker 1: why you want to win the division. You have the
Speaker 1: Eagles coming in here rematch, maybe that helps you have
Speaker 1: some knowledge of what didn't work the first time, can
Speaker 1: make those adjustments, have that film when you look at
Speaker 1: these two teams, what are the things that stand out
Speaker 1: about the keys for this matchup? And both teams seem
Speaker 1: pretty different than the first time around.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that was Week three and there's a Monday night
Speaker 2: game and we're not going to sugarcoat it. The Philly
Speaker 2: The Eagles dominated that game mainly. The difference was and
Speaker 2: a couple of players talked about this yesterday, the difference
Speaker 2: in the run games. We allowed two hundred and one
Speaker 2: rushing yards to the Eagles and only got forty one
Speaker 2: rushing yards. I mean that there was the Gulf that
Speaker 2: gave Philadelphia such a big advantage in that game, and
Speaker 2: the Bucks run game isn't one of the best in
Speaker 2: the league now, but it's definitely better. And you saw
Speaker 2: that in what they call a four minute trill the
Speaker 2: last six minutes of the game in Carolina, assaulting that
Speaker 2: game away by running successfully six, seven, eight times on
Speaker 2: the last drive when the defense knew you were going
Speaker 2: to run the ball. To be able to succeed in
Speaker 2: that situation means you have found some answers in the
Speaker 2: running game, and it's been a little bit hit or miss,
Speaker 2: but in the second half of the season it's definitely
Speaker 2: been better. And the Bucks run defense is actually ranked
Speaker 2: fifth in the league, so they know it's a challenge
Speaker 2: because Philadelphia has such a great offensive line again this
Speaker 2: year three Pro bowlers from that line, so it's going
Speaker 2: to be a battle in the trenches on both sides.
Speaker 2: They didn't the pH The Eagles defense didn't. I keep
Speaker 2: saying Phillies. The Eagles defense didn't have as many sacks
Speaker 2: as when they went nuts last year, but they still
Speaker 2: have a very talented defensive front led by Hassan Redick.
Speaker 2: So as Levonte David was saying yesterday, it's really right
Speaker 2: there on both sides of the ball where this game
Speaker 2: is probably gonna be won.
Speaker 3: It's going to be an interesting matchup for it.
Speaker 2: Is interesting also because the Eagles and the Bucks are
Speaker 2: The Eagles are the Bucks' most common playoff opponent in
Speaker 2: their history, and it's not even close. This will be
Speaker 2: the sixth time these two teams have played. Washington is
Speaker 2: next with three, so I don't know why it keeps
Speaker 2: coming up Philadelphia. But if you look at this, you
Speaker 2: know the very first playoff game in team history was
Speaker 2: the top one there in seventy nine. Bucks won that one. Obviously,
Speaker 2: you can remember that in two thousand and two thousand
Speaker 2: and one, those seasons ended very disappointingly with lopsided losses
Speaker 2: in wildcard games in Philly. And that's why the game
Speaker 2: in two thousand and two, the NFC Championship game, it
Speaker 2: was such a big deal because it was in Philly,
Speaker 2: it was the last game in the Veterans Stadium. It
Speaker 2: was the Rendez Barber play. And then two years ago,
Speaker 2: a more current iteration because Jalen Hurts was he was
Speaker 2: early in his starting career, but he was starting for
Speaker 2: that team, and the Bucks really handled that game in
Speaker 2: the wild her around going up thirty one to nothing
Speaker 2: at one point, so and really handling Jalen Hurts well.
Speaker 2: But Jalen Hurts has definitely advanced since then, so it's
Speaker 2: a big question mark as we show graphically there, what's
Speaker 2: going to happen this time around?
Speaker 1: All right, well, that is going to do it for
Speaker 1: us on this edition of Bucks Insider. We hope everyone
Speaker 1: enjoys that game. We hope to see a lot of
Speaker 1: you out here at Raymond James Stadium or at least
Speaker 1: following along on Buccaneers dot Com, and we'll see you
Speaker 1: next week.