Speaker 1: NFL Explained is a production of the NFL in partnership
Speaker 1: with I Heart Radio. Part I am torn today, I'm robbed.
Speaker 1: Part of me is happy, part of me it's really sad.
Speaker 1: I'm going to lean on you heavily in this episode
Speaker 1: to try to to probably get me to the positive side. Here.
Speaker 1: You're probably saying, like, why are you sad? Well, I'm
Speaker 1: sad because the NFL regular season it's over, and like
Speaker 1: I feel like it's a race to get to the postseason.
Speaker 1: Now that we're here, I'm like, did I savor the
Speaker 1: regular season enough? You? Are you? Vi? I've been with me.
Speaker 1: Do you feel the same way? I understand what you're saying, Yeams,
Speaker 1: But I mean, this is no time to be sad. Bro.
Speaker 1: It's the playoffs. It's a whole new season, right. You
Speaker 1: can get a seven seed find his way into the
Speaker 1: super Bowl. So now you know, I mean, it's bitter
Speaker 1: sweet yet end of the season, But I'm excited it's
Speaker 1: the playoffs. Yeah. Does it feel like the season went
Speaker 1: faster now that you're not getting hit anymore? Um? No?
Speaker 1: Because ms, I'm I'm a guy that cannot sit down,
Speaker 1: cannot sit still, So what happens is work just seems
Speaker 1: to find its way into my life. So no, um,
Speaker 1: this season went by extremely fast, just like it did
Speaker 1: when I was a player. Okay, all right, fair enough,
Speaker 1: all right. I think by the end of this episode,
Speaker 1: I'll get excited again and start thinking about the postseason.
Speaker 1: But today we're all about awards, right like guys who
Speaker 1: really have stood out, maybe a cut above the rest.
Speaker 1: We're gonna go through everything. But look, you mentioned the
Speaker 1: postseason and potentially a seven seed getting here. You know,
Speaker 1: one of the best things about the NFL. We always
Speaker 1: talk about the parody in this league. With the playoffs
Speaker 1: just about to kick up here, I just want to
Speaker 1: throw some things your way because I don't think people
Speaker 1: realize legitimately, m rob how much parody there is. In
Speaker 1: eighteen of the last twenty seasons, at least one team
Speaker 1: has won its division after finishing last the season prior.
Speaker 1: That's the Jags this year. What up? And maybe we're
Speaker 1: talking about coach Peterson for Coach of the the Year, which
Speaker 1: we'll do a little bit later here on this episod
Speaker 1: show it. In nineteen of the last twenty seasons, at
Speaker 1: least two teams won their division after missing the playoffs
Speaker 1: the season before, so the Jackson obvious one. And how
Speaker 1: about those Vikings at offense justin Jefferson maybe getting some
Speaker 1: love for Offensive Player of the Year potentially and Rob.
Speaker 1: And in the last thirty two seasons since the playoff
Speaker 1: format has been restructured, at least four teams have made
Speaker 1: the playoffs after missing the year prior this year. Check
Speaker 1: this out, man, it was six the Ravens, the Chargers,
Speaker 1: the Vikings. Yeah, gee, men, about those Giants, the Seahawks
Speaker 1: and the Jags. I can't get over m Rob what
Speaker 1: it must be like to be a player in the
Speaker 1: locker room started the season, think about a lack of
Speaker 1: success that you might have had the season before, and go,
Speaker 1: you know what, let's just flush it because we can
Speaker 1: get there. That's what it's all about. And that's what
Speaker 1: makes with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick did for twenty
Speaker 1: something seasons in New England sold special right each year.
Speaker 1: They found a way to kind of reinvent themselves and
Speaker 1: understand that last year meant nothing about this upcoming season.
Speaker 1: And that's what you saw from all these teams. You
Speaker 1: talk about the Vikings, Giants, Seahawks, and jack especially my Seahawks. Man,
Speaker 1: they left Russell Wilson leave. They said, by Russell franchise quarterbacks.
Speaker 1: So people said, a Hall of Famer by Russell. We're
Speaker 1: gonna take Gino Smith your back up, and we're gonna
Speaker 1: get to the playoffs with them. I mean, what a
Speaker 1: store and we'll take the fifth overall pick this trapped
Speaker 1: to just just to boot. Let's not forget about that,
Speaker 1: Seattle fans, I know you haven't. Denver fans would love
Speaker 1: to forget about that today, though, this episode is all
Speaker 1: about awards, Like I made reference to the individual awards
Speaker 1: that are gonna be handed out at NFL Honors February nine,
Speaker 1: nine Eastern time, in Phoenix, just a few days prior
Speaker 1: to Super Bowl fifty seven, which will be on NBC
Speaker 1: and Peacock they'll do the whole red carpet thing. I'm
Speaker 1: not a red carpet guy. And Rob like you, I
Speaker 1: know you probably you know time. No, No, that's you, man,
Speaker 1: that sounds from you. Gotta go, damn bro. No, man,
Speaker 1: I'm in studio. I'm gonna be headed down to Arizon.
Speaker 1: I can tell you that you might be able to
Speaker 1: get after it. I got to imagine though, and and
Speaker 1: maybe the headliner when it comes to the awards is
Speaker 1: all about the m v P. We have been going
Speaker 1: back and forth. You know, I would say, what five
Speaker 1: six weeks ago, it was pretty clear, at least in
Speaker 1: my mind, who was the m v P. I think
Speaker 1: that's changed up a little bit. So let's get to
Speaker 1: some of these candidates and who you think could be
Speaker 1: the guy for me. Jalen Hurts was the guy that
Speaker 1: I would focus on a few weeks ago. I think
Speaker 1: that's changed a little bit. Patrick Mahomes he wins his
Speaker 1: seventh straight division title. Jalen Hurts got a little banged up.
Speaker 1: Now they still get the one seed in the NFC,
Speaker 1: so I don't know if that changes some of the
Speaker 1: naysayer's minds. Joe Burrow, Well, his squad obviously came on
Speaker 1: pretty strong, and I knew you'd being the president of
Speaker 1: Bill's Mafia. You can make a strong argument for Josh Allen.
Speaker 1: But let's start with Jalen Hurts. He's playing ridiculously good football.
Speaker 1: How much do you think what we saw last year
Speaker 1: affects our perception of him being the m v P
Speaker 1: this season. I don't think it affects it too much.
Speaker 1: Just simply because if you watch Jalen Hurts throughout his
Speaker 1: football life I'm talking you know, high school, college, you know,
Speaker 1: and now in the National Football League, he's always gotten better.
Speaker 1: Whenever he's gotten an opportunity, he has showed up, he
Speaker 1: has performed. And so before this season, I'm thinking, well,
Speaker 1: the Philadelphia Eagles are giving him an opportunity. They gave
Speaker 1: him an animal or here outside in a j. Brown.
Speaker 1: They have probably one of the top two or three
Speaker 1: offensive lines in all of football. He should take the
Speaker 1: next step. And for me, that's why, and I know
Speaker 1: they're gonna be some Philly fans that don't like me
Speaker 1: for saying this. That's why I wouldn't put him as
Speaker 1: my top m VP candidate right now, just simply because
Speaker 1: so much around him the team is legit. And I'm look,
Speaker 1: I think his special ability to run the football is
Speaker 1: what separates this team in bigger games. But I think
Speaker 1: Gardner means you, in his limited time, showed that he
Speaker 1: can operate this offense. Now it was circumstances they didn't
Speaker 1: and I was getting to that games did not win.
Speaker 1: You know, It's it's all good, But to me, the
Speaker 1: offense still function. To me, the offense still function. You
Speaker 1: still have guys a J. Brown, DeVante Smith, Quez Watkins,
Speaker 1: these guys one on one, they're gonna win with the
Speaker 1: capable quarterback throwing them the football. It's not to say
Speaker 1: that Jalen hurt shouldn't be in the running. It's not
Speaker 1: to say that Jalen Hurts is a scrub or anything
Speaker 1: like that. It's just to me, first of all, you
Speaker 1: gotta understand my background games. I'm getting a little story time,
Speaker 1: and I'm sure I was a Hasman finalist, bro Hasman finalists.
Speaker 1: You gotta understand that with Reggie Bush, Matt Liner, Vince Young,
Speaker 1: and Brady Quinn and myself, we were the five finalists
Speaker 1: that year, right, And you gotta understand, like I remember
Speaker 1: coach paternal saying to the national media, all these guys
Speaker 1: are great, but you gotta if you take any one
Speaker 1: of these guys off the team, how great would the
Speaker 1: team be? Right? And that that was his kind of,
Speaker 1: you know, kind of um singing my praises. That's kind
Speaker 1: of how I look at it with with Jalen Hurts. No,
Speaker 1: I don't think they would be the number one seed,
Speaker 1: but I do think what another quarterback to Philadelphia Eagles
Speaker 1: with their roster will be in the playoffs, and that's
Speaker 1: kind of where I look at other quarterbacks. Maybe I
Speaker 1: don't know. I hate to say it because I'm president
Speaker 1: of Bill's Mafia, but I mean, you can't deny what
Speaker 1: Patrick Mahomes has been doing. I know, I said it, Yam,
Speaker 1: I said it. You can't deny what Patrick Mahomes has
Speaker 1: been doing, especially without Reach Hill in his offense, just
Speaker 1: continues the function. I think that pairing of Patrick Mahomes,
Speaker 1: Andy Reid Eric be enemy. I mean, it's tough to
Speaker 1: beat those guys for this individual world. We're talking about
Speaker 1: the m v P. Okay, so let's be real here,
Speaker 1: there's not a set criteria when it comes to how
Speaker 1: each individual is deciding who should be the m v
Speaker 1: P and who should not. Right, So I think what
Speaker 1: you're describing makes some sense here. But I think if
Speaker 1: I use your argument, I can story this is justin
Speaker 1: Jefferson being the m v P, then can't you. I mean,
Speaker 1: you think about impact on a team, and we'll talk
Speaker 1: more Jefferson later, But I'm not disagreeing. Like if you
Speaker 1: said to me, hey, Patrick Mahomes went like okay, cool,
Speaker 1: Like I get, but I think the argument almost is
Speaker 1: now stronger for a guy like Jalen Hurts because they
Speaker 1: lost the games without him, and then it opens up
Speaker 1: the door. Well wait a second, look at the impact.
Speaker 1: Do you have to be, you know, one of the
Speaker 1: top I don't know two or three teams in the
Speaker 1: NFL to be the m v P in terms of
Speaker 1: the win loss record. Well, I don't know if you've
Speaker 1: got to be one of the top two or three
Speaker 1: teams in the league, But I do think you have
Speaker 1: to have team success. Like I wouldn't give the m
Speaker 1: v P to a guy or to a guy on
Speaker 1: a team that didn't go to the playoffs. So when
Speaker 1: you talk about it justin Jefferson, yeah, I do think
Speaker 1: he should be in the mix. But the quarterback position
Speaker 1: has so much to do, so many responsibilities. We're even
Speaker 1: looking at guys like Tom Brady, who we consider what
Speaker 1: I consider the go the greatest winner at the quarterback position.
Speaker 1: I don't think he's the greatest quarterback to ever play.
Speaker 1: I don't think he's the great the greatest physical quarterback
Speaker 1: to ever play. That's a whole another different story. But
Speaker 1: he I do think he is the greatest winner with
Speaker 1: quarterbacks having to do so much these days, is that
Speaker 1: the m v P is turned into a quarterback award.
Speaker 1: I mean Justin Jefferson can be eliminated in games, right,
Speaker 1: We've seen him not have as many catches or whatever.
Speaker 1: Still has an impact on games because it opens up
Speaker 1: other guys. But you can have games with Justin Jefferson
Speaker 1: from a number standpoint, just doesn't show up at that
Speaker 1: quarterback position. I mean, every single facet of the game,
Speaker 1: you can even argue defensive fascet of the game is
Speaker 1: affected by the quarterback. And that's why I think the
Speaker 1: m v P, at least in recent history, has turned
Speaker 1: into a quarterback award. Okay, so from a jail and
Speaker 1: hurts perspective, this is a guy who's the first player
Speaker 1: in NFL history with a season of at least twenty
Speaker 1: two passing touchdowns and thirteen rushing touchdowns. I think you
Speaker 1: can come up with any sort of statistical analysis for
Speaker 1: any of the top guys because Patrick Mahomes has thrown
Speaker 1: for over yards, guys got forty one touchdown passes in
Speaker 1: twelve interceptions, and all the Chiefs do is continue to win,
Speaker 1: and they did it this season without Tyree kill. It
Speaker 1: sounds like Mahomes for you is a clear cut favorite. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna go with my Homes. It's hard. From an
Speaker 1: m v P standpoint, I gotta I gotta take my
Speaker 1: fan head off and not talk about the bazook of
Speaker 1: an arm and Josh Alley, I gotta take my fan
Speaker 1: head off and just look, you know, do this thing.
Speaker 1: From an analyst standpoint, and um yeah, to me, the
Speaker 1: red zone turnovers for Josh, it takes some points away
Speaker 1: from the m v P conversation. Patrick Mahomes, you take
Speaker 1: a weapon like Tyree hill Away and this offense continues
Speaker 1: the function. You continue to be explosive, and you know,
Speaker 1: I think the biggest evolution of Patrick Mahomes is him
Speaker 1: just developing patients, not always throwing the football down the
Speaker 1: football field taken with the defense gives them and that
Speaker 1: opens up things later on in the game. To me,
Speaker 1: for that, yeah, I would give m v P to
Speaker 1: Patrick Mahomes, which leads me to the other two guys
Speaker 1: in the mix, and Josh Allen and Joe Burrow. Burrow
Speaker 1: statistically speaking, maybe a smidge worse than he was the
Speaker 1: season and going some categories, maybe a smidge better The
Speaker 1: point is he is an absolute machine and Josh Allen,
Speaker 1: we're actually witnessing history in the NFL, and I don't
Speaker 1: think it gets discussed nearly enough. Um, he's got the
Speaker 1: most rushing touchdowns of any player with at least thirty
Speaker 1: touchdown passes. I mean, guys just don't do what Josh
Speaker 1: Allen is capable of doing. And I would make this argument,
Speaker 1: and Rob, if you like Patrick Mahomes, you know two
Speaker 1: of the three losses that he has so far this
Speaker 1: season come at the hands of Josh Allen and Joe Burrow.
Speaker 1: So doesn't that automatically maybe give those guys an edge.
Speaker 1: I wouldn't say automatically give those guys an edge, because
Speaker 1: to win games as a team thing it is we're
Speaker 1: talking about an individual award and using a team metric
Speaker 1: to validate the individual, which again I just said team success.
Speaker 1: You know you wanna you want a guy that's on
Speaker 1: a successful team. I get it. I get all of that. Um,
Speaker 1: But at the end of the day, these are nuances
Speaker 1: we're talking about. These are very small differences in these guys.
Speaker 1: And again, if I'm a voter, I'm looking at team success,
Speaker 1: I'm looking at individual numbers all of that, and yeah,
Speaker 1: those guys beat him head to hit, but he's still
Speaker 1: got the number one seat, Yams. I mean it is
Speaker 1: what it is. Yeah, you hit the nail on the
Speaker 1: head where you said, hey, this has become a quarterback award.
Speaker 1: There's a frustration level, and I get it you played quarterback,
Speaker 1: but I also think of you as maybe the consummate
Speaker 1: team guy as well. And you understand this. For as
Speaker 1: much success as a team is going to have because
Speaker 1: of the play of their quarterback, there are certain defensive
Speaker 1: players that can swing the game in their team's favor
Speaker 1: just because of what they do on the field. And
Speaker 1: I don't think it's nearly enough credit. Shouldn't we be
Speaker 1: talking about more defensive players in the mix for m
Speaker 1: v P. It almost never happens. And I get mad
Speaker 1: at stuff like that, because those dudes really can dictate.
Speaker 1: The special guys dictate UH team success just as much,
Speaker 1: I think, in a lot of ways as the quarterback does.
Speaker 1: I think so. I think so. But I'll call in
Speaker 1: the National Football League the offense and and putting points
Speaker 1: on the board puts viewers, put viewers eyeballs on screens,
Speaker 1: and put seats, put butts in the seats, and so
Speaker 1: if that's the chase, of course the game is gonna
Speaker 1: molde to help out those offensive guys. And who is
Speaker 1: the most important down offense, the guy who touches the
Speaker 1: ball almost every single play. To me, for a defensive
Speaker 1: guy to do it, it would have to be a guy.
Speaker 1: I mean, you had to get like twenty five sacks.
Speaker 1: I mean you would have to do something crazy, historic, crazy, Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, have a sack in every
Speaker 1: single game, have big time plays to win that. I mean,
Speaker 1: maybe Aaron Donald, if you know, maybe yeah, maybe Aaron done.
Speaker 1: But he had twenty and a half sacks, uh one
Speaker 1: quarterback hits and twenty five tackle for losses, but they
Speaker 1: end up losing the Super Bowl to New England. But
Speaker 1: maybe a guy like that with performance like that. But
Speaker 1: it's tough to see in a game of offense, and
Speaker 1: when the rules kind of favor of the quarterback and
Speaker 1: favor points being put on the board. You and I
Speaker 1: a little bit later on this podcast, we're gonna talk
Speaker 1: about Defensive Player of the Year, and something tells me
Speaker 1: will love up some of those guys and some of
Speaker 1: those special performances from this season. But getting back to
Speaker 1: m v P here, if Mahomes, by the way, does win,
Speaker 1: he's gonna join a couple of really notable quarterbacks Joe
Speaker 1: on Town of Steve Young, Kurt Warner with two m
Speaker 1: v ps, Tom Brady, Brett fav Johnny Unitis and Jim Brown.
Speaker 1: They won three, Aaron Rodgers won four, and Peyton Manning
Speaker 1: has got the most with a five spot by the way,
Speaker 1: Patrick Mahomes has got You got a lot of tread
Speaker 1: still on those tires, man, That's what I'm tread there,
Speaker 1: And especially if Andy Reid just says, you know what,
Speaker 1: I keep losing weight, Man, I'm feeling good. I'm just
Speaker 1: gonna just charring this thing on out and it doesn't
Speaker 1: seem like being and me gonna get a head coaching
Speaker 1: job no time soon. So the people calling them plays
Speaker 1: and the people coaching the quarterback in the quarterback would
Speaker 1: just have a billion dollar contract. They will be there
Speaker 1: for a while. So yeah, you got a lot of
Speaker 1: trade left on that time. Hey, little side note here,
Speaker 1: I saw a quote and I'm paraphrasing here, but it
Speaker 1: was about Joe Burrow and the window that that team
Speaker 1: has to win a Super Bowl and his response, and
Speaker 1: I'm paraphrasing once again with something like the window is
Speaker 1: as long as my career. Like when you just say yo,
Speaker 1: Mike drop yo. That is like ultimate swag. I love
Speaker 1: seeing that. And it's borderline arrogant, but it is kind
Speaker 1: of cool to know your dude thinks in those terms. Man,
Speaker 1: that ain't arrogant and it ain't eric and I hate
Speaker 1: what you're saying borderline, but it ain't arrogant for real.
Speaker 1: If I'm a guy on that team, well in the
Speaker 1: front office, I'm like, hell, yeah, don't disrespect me by
Speaker 1: acting like we just got a window. And this then
Speaker 1: and there you've got Tom Brady playing for twenty five
Speaker 1: years and they're saying I'm the next un Oh yeah,
Speaker 1: as long as I'm playing, we got a chance. I
Speaker 1: like that at too by Joe Brow. Yeah, No, I
Speaker 1: like it too. I said that I don't like it.
Speaker 1: It was. It brought a smile to my face. At
Speaker 1: the end of the day, It's more than likely a
Speaker 1: two player race right now with Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts,
Speaker 1: and we'll see how it all plays out. All right,
Speaker 1: Welcome back to the NFL Explained Podcasts. Mike Yam and
Speaker 1: rob with you one of the things here as I
Speaker 1: move on to Offensive Player of the Year. I know
Speaker 1: I loved up Justin Jefferson a little while ago, and
Speaker 1: you mentioned the importance that Mahomes has on the Chiefs.
Speaker 1: I think it's almost like tenfolds the importance that Jefferson
Speaker 1: has with the Vikings. Here's some facts here. Minnesota's defense,
Speaker 1: it ain't good. Currently ranked thirty first in the league
Speaker 1: right now. Only three teams in NFL history have ranked
Speaker 1: in the bottom three and scoring defense and made the playoffs.
Speaker 1: That is just wild to me that we're having this
Speaker 1: conversation because they've been that poor on that side of
Speaker 1: the field. The eighty one Chargers, the eighty nine Houston Oilers,
Speaker 1: and the two thousand St. Louis Rams. None of those teams,
Speaker 1: by the way, even exist at this point. I'm just
Speaker 1: saying here, So the Vikings right now, they're on pace
Speaker 1: to be the first team since the nineties seven Vikings
Speaker 1: to finish inside the bottom three in defense and just
Speaker 1: outside the top three in offense. They're currently seventh in offense, which,
Speaker 1: by the way, almost surprised me. I thought they were
Speaker 1: closer to like the top five not that there's a
Speaker 1: huge distinction between five and seven, but I do think
Speaker 1: of him in those terms. Justin Jefferson an absolute machine.
Speaker 1: How many times has Kirk Cousins thrown that ball up
Speaker 1: in the air and it's in the vicinity of Jefferson
Speaker 1: and he just makes something. It's wild. But from a
Speaker 1: kirk Cousin's perspective, he's got the lowest pastor reigning of
Speaker 1: his career since become a full time starter. A lot
Speaker 1: of what I said, by the way, can probably be
Speaker 1: applied to Tyreek Hill and the Dolphins, whose defense is
Speaker 1: twenty four in the NFL. But they also got Jalen
Speaker 1: Waddle and to when he's been healthy, has had a
Speaker 1: ton of success. But Offensive Player of the Year, is
Speaker 1: it a slam dunk? It's got to be Justin Jefferson.
Speaker 1: I don't know if it's a slam dunk um because
Speaker 1: I wish I could vote on this stuff, because I
Speaker 1: would vote for Justin Jefferson. A hundred and eight receptions
Speaker 1: over eighteen hundred receiving yards and eight receiving tds and yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm president of Bill with Mafia. I can sit here
Speaker 1: and admitted on this podcast, I love of bills right
Speaker 1: now and when they play my bills. Did you remember
Speaker 1: that one hand that reached bat catch. I'm taking it
Speaker 1: out of of defenders two hands. He bring it out
Speaker 1: of his hands with one. I mean that play alone,
Speaker 1: by the way, Microp, how about this. Earlier in that game,
Speaker 1: Diggs had a catch that I thought was on the
Speaker 1: shortlist of one of the best of the season. And
Speaker 1: then later in that game, Jefferson has his We had
Speaker 1: Digs on Total Access and I had asked him about
Speaker 1: that and he's like, yeah, my catch is pretty good,
Speaker 1: but he goes, I'm not gonna lie. He's like, Jefferson's
Speaker 1: is better because it was ridiculous. I've never seen anything
Speaker 1: like that. My man was horizontal in the air, okay,
Speaker 1: with one hand on the football. I remember seeing that
Speaker 1: and I was like, I was mad, but I was
Speaker 1: like super amazed. I was kind of happy because I'm like,
Speaker 1: that's crazy, you know what I'm saying. I'm a football
Speaker 1: fan at first, and it's just like, yo, that catch
Speaker 1: alone might just put him there in the offensive Player
Speaker 1: of the Year category. But I mean, I just don't
Speaker 1: know if there's been I mean, obviously I love step
Speaker 1: Digs and the other guys running the National Football League
Speaker 1: other than Tyreek Hills. I don't know if there's been
Speaker 1: just another courage dictator like a Justin Jefferson that forces
Speaker 1: the defense to move, forces the defense to kind of
Speaker 1: defend him a certain way that makes playing quarterback a
Speaker 1: little easier. So yeah, I will vote for Justin Jefferson. Okay,
Speaker 1: I'm with you on the Jefferson side to be fair,
Speaker 1: only because there was a good stretch of the season
Speaker 1: where I could have storied a path for Tyreek Hill.
Speaker 1: At one point, he was leaning in the NFL in
Speaker 1: receptions and yards and was on his third quarterback of
Speaker 1: the season, and obviously they were finding ways to win.
Speaker 1: So I get it from his side. Can you just
Speaker 1: explain to me from a defensive standpoint, when a guy
Speaker 1: like Jefferson is out on the field, if tyreeks on
Speaker 1: the field, I'll throw Kelsey into the mix as well.
Speaker 1: When those dudes are out there, what do they do
Speaker 1: to an opposing defense? All right? So you know motions
Speaker 1: and shifts and stuff like that. Yeah, yeah, you know
Speaker 1: all of that. You've been doing this thing for a
Speaker 1: long time. So like me when I when I played fullback, right,
Speaker 1: I would line up offset, I take my step and
Speaker 1: move in motion and get ready to do my docking.
Speaker 1: Defense didn't move. They could have cared less. God just
Speaker 1: made emotions. So what you know what I'm saying. When
Speaker 1: Tyrek Hill goes in motion, seven guys on the defense
Speaker 1: communicate everybody. I don't know if we're doing here, we
Speaker 1: go here. I mean, guys jump out of gaps. He
Speaker 1: affects the entire defense. When Travis Kelsey whenever he does
Speaker 1: that little slow motion he does and it looked like
Speaker 1: he's just kind of trying to you know, just trying
Speaker 1: to fool you or something. Yes, four or five guys
Speaker 1: are communicating and locked in on Travis Kelsey. That is
Speaker 1: what they do for you and I, you know, I
Speaker 1: kind of explained it a little bit earlier. But when
Speaker 1: you're a quarterback and you step up to the line
Speaker 1: of scrimmage, I've been there before in college. When you
Speaker 1: step up there and you see all these colors and
Speaker 1: all of these bodies moving around, and when you think
Speaker 1: you know the coverage and you're like, okay, I think
Speaker 1: I know the coverage. I hope my receiver knows the
Speaker 1: same coverage. Is that it can get confusing it can
Speaker 1: can mess you up. But when you you got a
Speaker 1: Justin Jefferson, all right, I'm gonna put Justin Jefferson on
Speaker 1: the back side of the three by one by himself, right,
Speaker 1: put three receivers on one stop with Justin Jefferson by himself,
Speaker 1: and I'm just gonna see how this defense. I'm just
Speaker 1: gonna look and see what they do. Okay, they're gonna
Speaker 1: put a corner to his side, They're gonna put a
Speaker 1: cloud safety to his side. In my head, I'm like,
Speaker 1: oh my goodness, is raining. That's two on one. That
Speaker 1: mean they short a guy on the other side of
Speaker 1: my three receivers. It's not easy. And again, playing quarterback
Speaker 1: is hard in the National Football League, but it does
Speaker 1: make it easier to play quarterback, especially when you got
Speaker 1: guys like you know, to a Tongova who hadn't seen
Speaker 1: a lot of football in the National Football League and
Speaker 1: the Kirk Cousins who has seen a lot but hadn't
Speaker 1: had a lot of success. You need that coverage dictator,
Speaker 1: especially to make a guy like Kurt feel comfortable. Okay,
Speaker 1: so you're talking about coverage dictators, and I'm gonna start
Speaker 1: with Kelsey A hundred and ten receptions for him, so
Speaker 1: he's a little behind. Tyreek Hill a hundred and nineteen
Speaker 1: and Justin Jefferson had a hundred and twenty eight. Once again,
Speaker 1: we're talking about wide receivers in Jefferson Entyreek versus what
Speaker 1: a tight end is getting not that far behind in
Speaker 1: terms of receiving yards. Look, Justin Jefferson was a monster
Speaker 1: over eighteen hundred yards one thousand, eight hundred and nine
Speaker 1: receiving yards. Tyreek Hill not far behind at one thousand,
Speaker 1: seven hundred and ten. Travis Kelsey once again at the
Speaker 1: tight end spot thirteen hundred receiving yards. It's almost unfair
Speaker 1: to do the comparison because of what Jefferson and Tyreek
Speaker 1: can do. I mean, Tyreek can catch the ball on
Speaker 1: a screen and then take an eighty yards, So it's
Speaker 1: it's a little bit the yak impacts a little bit,
Speaker 1: But I'm just saying Travis Kelsey not far behind when
Speaker 1: you consider that he is a tight end. And then
Speaker 1: in terms of the touchdowns, Jefferson with eight, Tyreek with seven,
Speaker 1: and this is where it goes in his favor because
Speaker 1: of the position that he plays at that tight end spot.
Speaker 1: Travis Kelsey with twelve. So once again, I mean, these
Speaker 1: are in some ways historic numbers for all three of
Speaker 1: these guys in different fashions. When you talk about Kelsey's
Speaker 1: second most receptions, fourth most receiving yards, and the most
Speaker 1: receiving touchdowns by a tight end in NFL, his tree
Speaker 1: in a single season, Jefferson in that conversation, and Tyreek
Speaker 1: for other reasons as well. But look, Patrick Mahomes and
Speaker 1: Jalen Hurts. We talked about those guys em Rod, but
Speaker 1: if he said to me offensive player of the Year,
Speaker 1: I still might lean towards Justin Jefferson. But I think
Speaker 1: you might be talking me into Kelsey here. Well, I
Speaker 1: would lean towards Justin Jefferson. Again, you know, that catch
Speaker 1: against Buffalo did it for me, man, You know what
Speaker 1: I'm saying, just the difficulty of it. It did it
Speaker 1: for me. And then the numbers kind of back up
Speaker 1: what you see. And then the way the defenses respond
Speaker 1: to Justin Jefferson to me, it backs up him getting
Speaker 1: the Offensive Player of the Year. But again, Andy Ree,
Speaker 1: Patrick Mahomes, the chemistry with Travis Kelsey, you just can't
Speaker 1: overlook that. And again I don't even want to leave
Speaker 1: to Rich Hill out of this because I think he's
Speaker 1: a wing back. He's a he's a he's planning a
Speaker 1: wide receiver position, but he's a running back for real,
Speaker 1: because he's a tough tackle. I don't want to discount
Speaker 1: what he does either, But Travis Kelsey Man, I mean
Speaker 1: it's tough to overlook those numbers and tough to overlook
Speaker 1: what he does and what he means to an offense. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I do think in a year like this year, it'll
Speaker 1: be quarterback from VP, which is typically what we get.
Speaker 1: But I don't think it's going to be a Jalen Hurtter,
Speaker 1: Patrick Mahomes France Offensive Player of the Year. I think
Speaker 1: it's gonna be one of the three guys that we
Speaker 1: made reference to. H If it was up to me,
Speaker 1: we would have started with defense. Um, but we but
Speaker 1: we didn't. It's okay, Like I get it. It's like
Speaker 1: you said, m Rob, it's all about the offense. That's
Speaker 1: we love scoring. But we've already hit the offensive guys
Speaker 1: coming up here. I think there's a bevy of names
Speaker 1: you could throw out there for defensive player of the
Speaker 1: Year and some rookies who bawled out. I actually with
Speaker 1: the rookie class on the defensive side. This league is
Speaker 1: set up for a ton of success moving forward. We'll
Speaker 1: examine some of those names when we come back on
Speaker 1: the NFL Explaining Podcast. All right, welcome back to the
Speaker 1: NFL Explained Podcast. Hey, did I not even say our
Speaker 1: names at the top of the show. I don't think
Speaker 1: I did. Know. That's not bad. It's all good, man.
Speaker 1: We got very recognizable boys. It's all good. He's the
Speaker 1: Super Bowl champ. Michael Robinson, Pike yap with you. All right.
Speaker 1: We we talked offense to start the show. Let's get
Speaker 1: into some of the defense. It's disappointing for me because
Speaker 1: defensive players they're hard nose, they're tough dudes that are
Speaker 1: out there and impact the game, and yet they don't
Speaker 1: get nearly enough love because defensive players don't win m
Speaker 1: v P. It's only happened. I shouldn't say never, but
Speaker 1: it basically never happens. It's only happened twice in league history.
Speaker 1: Alan Page, defensive lineman for the Vikings he did in
Speaker 1: ninety one, also happened to capture, in the process, the
Speaker 1: fewest percentage of first place votes of all time, with
Speaker 1: twenty one. They don't like. They don't like the defensive dudes.
Speaker 1: And then, of course a legend of legends Lawrence Taylor
Speaker 1: in eighties six twenty and a half sacks, a hundred
Speaker 1: and five tackles, five passes defended, two forced fumbles, and
Speaker 1: m Rob, I could see your face meant to do
Speaker 1: just scary scared. That was six that his rookie year.
Speaker 1: Was it that he didn't do that in his rookie year?
Speaker 1: And that might have been just early in his career,
Speaker 1: but oh my twenty second hive times. I mean, look
Speaker 1: at that man. Dude was on one. Now, I will
Speaker 1: say this, I believe he was a part of a
Speaker 1: defensive scheme that you know, it was kind of new
Speaker 1: to the National Football League at the time. And I'm
Speaker 1: not saying anything about my running backs, but he was
Speaker 1: up against back to some of those times, and we
Speaker 1: gave up some sex launce talent. I don't think nobody
Speaker 1: could really block him, especially running back. So not many
Speaker 1: people at all that could talk a guy like that's
Speaker 1: out there. This current version of the NFL has got
Speaker 1: some freakazoids out there on the defensive side shortlist this year.
Speaker 1: Michael Parsons has got to be there. I'll throw in
Speaker 1: what's name just because when he's healthy, he's obviously kind
Speaker 1: of crazy. I mean, think about what Parsons would have been.
Speaker 1: How look, I mean I shouldn't say what he would
Speaker 1: have been. How we discussed him was ridiculously high praise.
Speaker 1: You know, t J. Wattell had had a sack record,
Speaker 1: so obviously he's in that conversation. Miles Garrett continues to
Speaker 1: be an absolute unster her I'll throw up both bosses,
Speaker 1: but Nick has also just specifically for one of the
Speaker 1: best defenses we've seen this year, historically good defense for
Speaker 1: the San Francisco forty nine. You tell me I'm rob.
Speaker 1: Is there a name that stands out to you as
Speaker 1: you continue to watch the tape? Nick Bo? I mean, yeah,
Speaker 1: I missed. Nobody's Nick Bos for me this year. The
Speaker 1: dude is an animal. It was only three games where
Speaker 1: he didn't have any sacks this year eighteen and a
Speaker 1: half sex, two forced fumbles, nineteen tackles for laws. He
Speaker 1: can beat you with just a bull rush. He can speed,
Speaker 1: the power, he can just get around you. He plays
Speaker 1: the run, he has a spin move, he has a
Speaker 1: counter move. He I mean, there's nothing from a defensive
Speaker 1: line of standpoint that this dude can't do, and when
Speaker 1: he's not out there, the defense looks different. To me.
Speaker 1: He's clearly the defensive player of the year. And just
Speaker 1: kind of how do we talked about before about how
Speaker 1: coverage dictates are with the wide receivers and helping the
Speaker 1: quarterback play a little bit better. Well, let me tell
Speaker 1: you something about Nick Bosa. When he's on the field,
Speaker 1: all offensive lines are sliding that way, all of them
Speaker 1: are sliding that way, or you're gonna have a tight
Speaker 1: end there or back there. He's gonna affect how many
Speaker 1: guys you get out in the route because you just
Speaker 1: gotta make sure that you take care of Nick Bosa.
Speaker 1: For me, yeah, he's a defensive player deal this year. Now.
Speaker 1: I mean you also mentioned my guy, Michael Parson's Pence
Speaker 1: State to love to dude, love love him. I call
Speaker 1: him the natural games He's the natural. To know, he
Speaker 1: played off the ball linebacker for as much as he
Speaker 1: did at Penn State and all of that, and they
Speaker 1: had him rushing from like the second level. He didn't
Speaker 1: play much as a defensive end rushing the quarterback. And
Speaker 1: then he gets in the National Football League and goes
Speaker 1: Ham rushing the quarterback right Like, to me, that's pretty
Speaker 1: specials and he has a natural pass rush to him.
Speaker 1: Sometimes I think he complains a lot, And I think
Speaker 1: he would say that too if he when he looks
Speaker 1: back at the film this year about all the hold
Speaker 1: of the medal of this that in the third I mean,
Speaker 1: come on, man, that's what they're gonna do to one
Speaker 1: of the top pass rushers in the National Football League.
Speaker 1: And there's times where he disappears. To me, Nick Bosa
Speaker 1: never disappears, So yeah, that's why I would give it
Speaker 1: the Nick bos throwing this out there. Bos eighteen and
Speaker 1: a half sacks this season that leads the NFL, parts
Speaker 1: in seventh in the NFL and sacks at thirteen and
Speaker 1: a half, and Miles Garrett has got six team, which
Speaker 1: is the second highest total Miles Garrett. I love Myles Garrett.
Speaker 1: I I think he's the most the most physically gifted
Speaker 1: player in the National Football League. I believe that. I
Speaker 1: just believe he's only getting by by Tyler telling I
Speaker 1: don't know, I'm not saying he's not a worker. I
Speaker 1: believe he's a worker in all of those things. But again,
Speaker 1: there's times in a game where you're like his Miles
Speaker 1: Garrett playing and for god, I's built like that. I'm sorry.
Speaker 1: You're supposed to have an effect like Aaron Donald, You're
Speaker 1: supposed to have an effect like t J. Watt. You're
Speaker 1: supposed to in effect like Nick Bosa, like these guys,
Speaker 1: and I don't know, it's just there's times he just
Speaker 1: didn't show up. I want to shift our attention to
Speaker 1: some of the young guys, em Rob, the rookies. I'm
Speaker 1: not surprised that we're having the conversation around wide receivers
Speaker 1: because there's been so many this season who have been
Speaker 1: really good. Garrett Wilson certainly comes to my Christian Watson
Speaker 1: what he was able to do at the end of
Speaker 1: the season really coming on Strong Sunday Night of Week eighteen,
Speaker 1: there was that quote from Watson. I maybe it was
Speaker 1: Collinsworth who relayed the story, but he said, there was
Speaker 1: a moment where I was thinking to myself, like I
Speaker 1: don't want to let Aaron Rodgers down, you know, like
Speaker 1: you could sort of tell like as the season went on,
Speaker 1: he just got more comfortable being a teammate to Aaron
Speaker 1: Rodgers as opposed to looking at him like, oh my god,
Speaker 1: like that dude's Aaron Rodgers, Crystal Lave throughout the course
Speaker 1: of the entire season, really really productive. I thought Kenneth
Speaker 1: Walker was the difference maker for Seattle down the stretch.
Speaker 1: Damian Pearce came on kind of like Gangbusters earlier in
Speaker 1: this season, did cool a little bit it, But I
Speaker 1: felt like every time you watch one of those games
Speaker 1: and Rob the defensive line was already in the backfield
Speaker 1: every time dam and Pierre Scott got the football, that
Speaker 1: was tough sledding for him. Uh. And I'll throw up
Speaker 1: brock Purty. How about this, dude, Mr Irrelevant? You're the
Speaker 1: last pick in the NFL draft in what was perceived
Speaker 1: as a not great quarterback class, and yet you got
Speaker 1: an opportunity to lead the team to a super Bowl
Speaker 1: here five and oh as a starter? Why not have him?
Speaker 1: Maybe in that conversation for Rookie Offensive Rookie of the Year,
Speaker 1: I think if you would have been playing like since
Speaker 1: like Week three or four. Yeah, but no five games Jams,
Speaker 1: absolutely not no. And yes, Cayle Shanahan has done a
Speaker 1: marvelous job manufacturing offense and help him Brock Purty out,
Speaker 1: And I think he's played well. He really has. He
Speaker 1: has a little he has some moxia bottle. But at
Speaker 1: the end of the day, I just the sample size
Speaker 1: is it just didn't big enough for me. Kenneth Walker
Speaker 1: is the offensive rookie of the Year from me. When
Speaker 1: he was coming out, I said, this was my top
Speaker 1: back in the draft last year. I did not call
Speaker 1: him the Danny. I called him the Danny knishe you
Speaker 1: know what I'm saying, just because when I watched him
Speaker 1: gonna take he kind of looks like him. I'm not
Speaker 1: saying he has the long speed, not saying he's gonna
Speaker 1: be all Hall of Famer, but he just attacks the
Speaker 1: line of scrimmage like LT and so um. Yeah, man,
Speaker 1: I think he was the foundation for the Seahawks offense.
Speaker 1: He had over a thousand yards um of a sharp
Speaker 1: penny went down earlier in this season. He stepped right
Speaker 1: in and got going. They had two rookie tackles on
Speaker 1: the house side and he still got a thousand yards.
Speaker 1: And yeah, he finished the year with three hundred yard games.
Speaker 1: Even had a hundred and sixty seven yard game against
Speaker 1: the Charges earlier in this season. This dude can run
Speaker 1: the football. And my old coach Pete Carroll. I finally
Speaker 1: seen him smiling and like, looked like he was having
Speaker 1: fun again. I hadn't seen him looked like he was
Speaker 1: having fun in a long time. And and if I
Speaker 1: had to put my finger on it, to me, it's
Speaker 1: because of the run games, because uh, you know, it's
Speaker 1: it's laid the foundation for what Geno Smith was able
Speaker 1: to do and be one of the most accurate pastors
Speaker 1: and all the football this year through play action passing
Speaker 1: from that Shane Waldron offense. But it starts with Kenneth Walker,
Speaker 1: the third scaring opposing defense. This dude can get through
Speaker 1: little cracks and crevices. Then not a lot of backs came.
Speaker 1: Look at that was the recipe for success when you
Speaker 1: were there in Seattle, right, you had beast mode and
Speaker 1: things worked out pretty pretty well there. Kenneth Walker by
Speaker 1: the way, leading all rookies and rushing yards and rushing touchdowns.
Speaker 1: To be fair, Damian Pierce didn't play the last four
Speaker 1: weeks of the season, but on the front end, Kenneth
Speaker 1: Walker wasn't out there at the beginning of the season,
Speaker 1: so nonetheless huge impact. I think there's a really strong
Speaker 1: case for Garrett Wilson, Jets wide receiver, eighty three catches
Speaker 1: for him over an eleven hundred receiving yards. Can you
Speaker 1: imagine if there was a more steady fixture at the
Speaker 1: quarterback spot for Gang Green. I mean, it's impressive that
Speaker 1: he did what he did, knowing the revolving to our
Speaker 1: quarterback that they had. Very impressive, And it was hard
Speaker 1: for me not to talk about those Ohio State receivers
Speaker 1: because I'm gonna be honest with you, Dan, I'm just
Speaker 1: gonna keep it real. And maybe it's because I went
Speaker 1: to Vince State. I think those guys are gonna be
Speaker 1: as good I did. I looked down at Crystal Love
Speaker 1: with the Saints, especially when I saw Jameis Winston wasn't
Speaker 1: gonna get the nod like, Okay, Andy Dalton. You know
Speaker 1: they don't have Sean Payton. Ain't no way this man
Speaker 1: gonna get a thousand yards. He goes out there and
Speaker 1: just and becomes pretty dominant towards the end of the
Speaker 1: season as well. Garrett Wilson early in the season, No way,
Speaker 1: I didn't. I thought this dude was gonna look like this.
Speaker 1: Late in the season, he's catching passes, getting up talking.
Speaker 1: I mean, he looked like he belonged. And I remember
Speaker 1: being a rookie myself, Yams, and I remember always calling
Speaker 1: my brother back at home, like, Yo, did you watch
Speaker 1: the game? Did you watch the game? And the first
Speaker 1: question all rookies want to know is how did I
Speaker 1: look like? Forget about the numbers, but did I look
Speaker 1: like I was supposed to be out there? Like? Do
Speaker 1: I look like I'm a little kid out there? Do
Speaker 1: I look like a man? You know what? I look
Speaker 1: like I'm supposed to be out there with NFL players?
Speaker 1: And this dude, Garrett Wilson, Man, I think it was
Speaker 1: probably week six or seven. Man, he just exploded it.
Speaker 1: Because that kid has a bright future. He got eight
Speaker 1: quarterbacks that she sold up in um with New York. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's a big question for the off season that they're
Speaker 1: gonna have to figure out. All right, Welcome back to
Speaker 1: the NFL Explained Podcasts. Mike Yam and Rob with you.
Speaker 1: I know, I loved up Boston just a little bit.
Speaker 1: It was like he was rolling out of bed at
Speaker 1: the end of the season and just finding a way
Speaker 1: into the end zone. Uh tied for the lead among
Speaker 1: rookies with nine total touchdowns. So just a little bit
Speaker 1: of a hat tip and give some credit where credit
Speaker 1: is due with the with the wide receiver defensive Rookie
Speaker 1: of the Year. To me, this is awesome for as
Speaker 1: much as we can talk about the offensive players this
Speaker 1: rookie class, on the defensive side, I'll actually start with
Speaker 1: Seattle Tarik Willem. This was a guy that was a
Speaker 1: converted wide receiver at U t S A fastest dude.
Speaker 1: I mean, we watched that combine. Are you kidding me?
Speaker 1: With that four to six? Ridiculous? And rob he has
Speaker 1: balled out. I don't know if he is defensive Rookie
Speaker 1: of the Year. Jalen Petrie is certainly a guy that
Speaker 1: comes to mind. Aidan Hutchinson's another player I don't think
Speaker 1: we talked nearly enough about. James Houston. Got to see
Speaker 1: him in person before the draft. This is an HBCU
Speaker 1: kid out of Jackson State and granted had some experience
Speaker 1: of the Power five level before a transfer. He has
Speaker 1: been a monster for Detroit. Sauce Gardner speaking of the Jets,
Speaker 1: my god, like, think about these guys who have really
Speaker 1: thrived in your number one. That's not easy to do
Speaker 1: on the defensive side. I'm rob not easy at all.
Speaker 1: So you mentioned Tyreek Willing. First. I called the Seahawks
Speaker 1: preseason games. Hopefully I'll do it again this upcoming preseason.
Speaker 1: And one of the first guys I ran into when
Speaker 1: I was up there was Tyreek Willing and Pete Carroll
Speaker 1: was he was smiling. He was like, Mike, Dude, I
Speaker 1: got it, I got one. I got one of those guys.
Speaker 1: I'm like, what you're talking about. Pete loves big, long corners.
Speaker 1: I E Brandon Browner, I E Richard Sherman. Right, this
Speaker 1: dude's longer than Richard Sherman. He's bigger than Richard Sherman,
Speaker 1: and he's a lot faster. I don't know about seeing
Speaker 1: a guy that big pick him up and put him
Speaker 1: down like we see Tyreek Willing do. And I remember
Speaker 1: talking to Clinton Hurts, the defense coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks,
Speaker 1: during the preseason, and he was like, Mike, this kid
Speaker 1: is special. I just want to see him tap. And
Speaker 1: in the first couple of games of the season, he
Speaker 1: went out there, he tackled, he showed he wasn't scared,
Speaker 1: and he made a Pro Bowl. So, yeah, Tyree Willing
Speaker 1: is a dog. But for me, it's Aidan Hutcherson. Aidan
Speaker 1: Hutchinson from game one, from snap one to the last
Speaker 1: snap he had this past weekend against the Green Bay
Speaker 1: Packers knocking him out the playoffs. He has looked like
Speaker 1: he belonged in the National football and he has looked
Speaker 1: like a five or six year beat. I mean, really, man,
Speaker 1: I mean fundamentally sound, strong hands, understand hand play, understand
Speaker 1: how to share blockers. Reminds me of a Khalil mac
Speaker 1: in that regard. Not his complete game reminds me of
Speaker 1: Khalil Mack, but just the way he shares and get
Speaker 1: after the quarterback and then like the splash plays that
Speaker 1: he's had. Man, he's got interceptions and everything interceptions this
Speaker 1: year and one of them he was just kind of
Speaker 1: looked like he was having out on the sideline it.
Speaker 1: I mean, he caught it right. Talbody had as much
Speaker 1: fun and it's entire life playing football. I just think
Speaker 1: he's part of that new energy that Coach Campbell has
Speaker 1: brought in the Detroit. To me, he was clearly the
Speaker 1: rookie defense. Now I can't say clearly because Sauce Gardener,
Speaker 1: some some quarterbacks didn't even look over there. They don't
Speaker 1: want to go there, you go. They don't even want
Speaker 1: to look over there. Dude, he's got that field covered.
Speaker 1: And to me, it was surprising the respect that a
Speaker 1: rookie corner got from quarterbacks in this league. I I
Speaker 1: really hadn't seen that type of respect from a Jets
Speaker 1: player since Darrell Reevers had his island over there. Um
Speaker 1: Rex Ryan defenses. So yeah, man, for me, it had
Speaker 1: to be eight hunches. You know, it's funny you mentioned
Speaker 1: that because I'm thinking about the NFL Draft, which is
Speaker 1: around the corner. I've been getting my notes ready on
Speaker 1: some of these guys here. It does put into questions
Speaker 1: the conversations that we have about some of these defensive
Speaker 1: players like Souce Gardner. We we knew we'd be good.
Speaker 1: We thought he'd be good. He's kicked out of Cincinnati though,
Speaker 1: like he just didn't know. You were talking about level
Speaker 1: of competition. Remember we were discussing about Aiden Hutchinson. Oh
Speaker 1: safe pick, Like is he is he close to his ceiling?
Speaker 1: Like it's just like, oh, okay, terk Wolin a little
Speaker 1: bit of a steel. Late in the draft, you see interceptions.
Speaker 1: This guy's got here and yet thriving on the football field.
Speaker 1: It really it's kind of cool to see some of
Speaker 1: these guys have success early on in their career. M Rob,
Speaker 1: And know what the conversation on the draft was, like,
Speaker 1: give these dudes an opportunity, Let's see how they play.
Speaker 1: Brock Purdy was Mr. Irrelevant And look at what he's
Speaker 1: doing right now. And he's out there and he's given
Speaker 1: an opportunity to play. And that's why. You know, I
Speaker 1: do some life coaching with young kids in high school
Speaker 1: and college and things like that, and I'm just like, dude,
Speaker 1: it doesn't matter. You just need to get there. You're
Speaker 1: gonna get it. If you get there, you get an opportunity.
Speaker 1: Don't look at where where you were draft and don't
Speaker 1: take it as a slide or whatever. If you want
Speaker 1: to keep that little chip on your shoulder to use
Speaker 1: it as motivation, that's one thing, but don't don't don't
Speaker 1: get upset about it. You when you get your opportunity
Speaker 1: to go, ball out. Guy like Brock Purty, he's done that. Yeah,
Speaker 1: em Rob, you know a lot of times and I
Speaker 1: know you do this too. You get asked to go
Speaker 1: as a guest on radio shows. This morning, I was
Speaker 1: a guest on one and the last question they asked
Speaker 1: me is the question I'll ask you. It was who
Speaker 1: to be coach of the Year. I had zero hesitation
Speaker 1: and went right for the juggular with the guy that
Speaker 1: I think should be coach of the Year. But I
Speaker 1: will lay this out here. There's there's some really good candidates.
Speaker 1: And just for context, if you go back and look
Speaker 1: at the team's record the year following their head coach
Speaker 1: winning head Coach of the Year honors, those teams have
Speaker 1: a winning percentage of just fifty percent. So for as
Speaker 1: good as we can love up some of these guys, man,
Speaker 1: it's some work. It's it's not over after this season,
Speaker 1: so there's always a little bit of a catch here.
Speaker 1: I'll throw out some of the candidates. Nick Sirianni comes
Speaker 1: to mind. Eagles one seed. A lot of times we
Speaker 1: might just gravitate towards the team that's got just the
Speaker 1: best record and look at what they've done. So I
Speaker 1: think Sirianni's name will be there. I don't think he wins, though.
Speaker 1: Kyle Shanahan a two seed in the NFC third quarterback
Speaker 1: this season, another rookie who's out there. Maybe sort of
Speaker 1: there's Ryan dave Ball. Here we go the Giants. I mean,
Speaker 1: you would have told the Giants fan they be in
Speaker 1: the post season. I think you make an argument through
Speaker 1: the most underrated team in the NFC in the postseason
Speaker 1: picture first time since. Look at the wide receivers that
Speaker 1: he's got out there, They're still making plays. Are you
Speaker 1: kidding me? Does it sound like I just said who
Speaker 1: I'm going with you? I am a little bit a
Speaker 1: little bit? Uh, Doug Peterson, look at the turnaround for
Speaker 1: the Jags, and I'll throw this out there. I don't
Speaker 1: know if Sean McDermott gets this in Buffalo, gets this award,
Speaker 1: but I gotta tell you, I look at him on
Speaker 1: the sidelines all these years and I go stock kind
Speaker 1: of hard nosed. You know what we witnessed over the
Speaker 1: last you know, few days on Damar Hamlin and his
Speaker 1: handling in that situation, hearing the comments from Zach Taylor
Speaker 1: about what the dialogue was like on the football field
Speaker 1: and Noah and that mcdermot's like, yo, man, like I
Speaker 1: can't coach. I gotta go to the hospital here. That
Speaker 1: human element. I don't know if he wins Coach of
Speaker 1: the Year. I just think this is a good opportunity
Speaker 1: just to hat to yo, man like, awesome job by you,
Speaker 1: because that's not that's not easy, it's not. I mean
Speaker 1: all these guys you mentioned, they have a level of
Speaker 1: realness to him. That's why I love him, all all
Speaker 1: of them. I wouldn't care if anybody you just named
Speaker 1: one coach of the year. Seriously, they have a level
Speaker 1: of realness about them, in authenticity that I think helps
Speaker 1: their teams out and it permeates throughout the locker room.
Speaker 1: It gives their players a sense of self, a sense
Speaker 1: of community, a sense of family. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: I mean, Nick Sirianni. I mean some of the press
Speaker 1: conferences he's done, the way he's had Jalen Hurts back
Speaker 1: throughout the entire season, the way he's managed the different personalities.
Speaker 1: You know what I mean. Because when you have a
Speaker 1: good roster, trust me, and there's personalities you have to manage. Okay,
Speaker 1: that's part of it. You know what I'm saying. Kyle Shanahan,
Speaker 1: you thought you were starting to season off of one quarterback,
Speaker 1: This quarterback that you moved up in the draft to
Speaker 1: go get. You told your starting quarterback that got you
Speaker 1: to a Super Bowl a couple of years ago. Hey man,
Speaker 1: sit off to the side. A matter of fact, don't
Speaker 1: he show up to the building no more, because you're
Speaker 1: gonna have a you know, you will be a distraction
Speaker 1: for the guy we really want to play quarterback. The
Speaker 1: guy we really want to play quarterback gets hurt now.
Speaker 1: The guy we told us that we got to come
Speaker 1: in I mean just so much. And now you're playing
Speaker 1: with Black Purdy, Mr. Development. He deserves that. Brian day
Speaker 1: Ball is winning with Daniel Jones. That's what it is.
Speaker 1: Call me, I would have to go with Sean McDermott.
Speaker 1: I'm sorry to be able to manage a team through
Speaker 1: some of the things that this team had to deal
Speaker 1: with this year. Whether it's the weather and they had
Speaker 1: a home game they found out in a week, Oh
Speaker 1: you know what, we're not playing here. You gonna get snow.
Speaker 1: Then we're gonna figure out a way to take you
Speaker 1: to Detroit. It's gonna count as your home game, but
Speaker 1: you're away, you know what I'm saying. And they dealt
Speaker 1: with that, They dealt with all the weather. They're in Buffalo.
Speaker 1: You dealt with the death of Dawson Knox's brother who
Speaker 1: you know, Dawson is a cheap figure in that organization.
Speaker 1: So it touched a lot of guys in that locker room.
Speaker 1: And then obviously, Damar Hamlin. I mean to to hear
Speaker 1: the stories and hear, you know, coach McDermott recount with
Speaker 1: you know, the decisions that were made in this thought process.
Speaker 1: He was very transparent throughout his press conferences and everything,
Speaker 1: and Yams, I don't know how many human beings would
Speaker 1: have been able to get the locker room full of
Speaker 1: fifty three men ready to go out there after seeing that.
Speaker 1: I mean, we're glad he Ams, and to have that
Speaker 1: happened on a football field while they were playing, that's everything.
Speaker 1: I talked to a lot of guys throughout this past week,
Speaker 1: and there were a lot of guys that were like, yo,
Speaker 1: I probably would have sent them my retirement papers. I'm
Speaker 1: I'm back, you know what I mean? I know guys
Speaker 1: that said that to me. And for him to have
Speaker 1: the week that he had and get those guys motivated
Speaker 1: to go out there and play the New England Patriots.
Speaker 1: One of the greatest coaches in Bill Belichick of all time.
Speaker 1: He was gonna have his team ready, he did. I
Speaker 1: mean that that says something, man. And you know I
Speaker 1: tweeted that after the game, after the Bill's game that mcdermo,
Speaker 1: so I need to get that man a bill something.
Speaker 1: Just just chill out and take a breath, um, because
Speaker 1: I just think it's very difficult to deal with those circumstances.
Speaker 1: Then you got your y'all star quarterbacks saying I don't
Speaker 1: know if anybody could have handled it better. And then
Speaker 1: to know that all Sean McDermod said was I was
Speaker 1: just doing what I thought was right. Now, I was
Speaker 1: doing what I thought was right. I don't know, man,
Speaker 1: I said it on the Bills podcast a couple of
Speaker 1: days ago. I don't know, man. It gives you a
Speaker 1: newfound perspective and energy and optimism about the human spirit
Speaker 1: and about you know, our society man. Because um, the
Speaker 1: way everything came together this past week for the Buffalo
Speaker 1: Bills was pretty crazy. Led by Sean McDermod. No. Here,
Speaker 1: I think you make a lot of really good points.
Speaker 1: I'd say two things. One, I'm glad I gave my
Speaker 1: guy first, um, because now now I don't know if
Speaker 1: I could have said my guy after you said your guy.
Speaker 1: That's one and then too, I feel bad for saying
Speaker 1: my guy after you just say out the terms for McDermott.
Speaker 1: But look, it's it's it is unprecedented times. I know
Speaker 1: we hear that phrase a lot. There are certain coaches
Speaker 1: that are in leadership roles. And I'm not just talking
Speaker 1: about the NFL. I just mean in life, various sports,
Speaker 1: professional college that shouldn't be leading, shouldn't be leaders because
Speaker 1: they're not leaders. McDermott, it's abundantly clear like he is
Speaker 1: a true leader in every sense of the words. So
Speaker 1: I wouldn't be surprised, shocked, or disappointed if Sean McDermot
Speaker 1: ends up being Coach of the Year, which also leads
Speaker 1: us to come back Player of the Year frontrunner. I
Speaker 1: don't gino? Is it gino? Maybe maybe we can go
Speaker 1: in that direction. Dude's been in the league for almost
Speaker 1: ten years. He's been a star before he started all
Speaker 1: the sixteen games for the Jets back in twelve touchdowns,
Speaker 1: one interceptions. You hear what I'm saying here at completion
Speaker 1: percentage that was under fifty those are not joh well,
Speaker 1: there are kind of jaw dropping when you throw twenty
Speaker 1: one in or sception. So here we go fast forward. Man,
Speaker 1: we're right, like we're talking about a pro bowler here.
Speaker 1: This season just sort of this magical run fifth and
Speaker 1: passer raining and nearly three to one touchdown of interception ratio.
Speaker 1: Broke Russell Wilson's team record for the most passing yards
Speaker 1: in the season. Yeah, they're in the playoffs. I think
Speaker 1: there's some other guys we can touch on them. But
Speaker 1: is Gino the clear favorite for this. I don't know
Speaker 1: if he's the clear favorite. Um, but I like I
Speaker 1: like this Geno Smith story. I really do. Um. I'm
Speaker 1: not gonna lie. What do you know say early in
Speaker 1: the season they wrote me off. I ain't right back,
Speaker 1: but do you know yeah, man, my letter was in
Speaker 1: the mail man, I wrote you off, bro, I sure
Speaker 1: did you know what I'm saying? And I had an
Speaker 1: opportunity touch you know this? You know in person. May
Speaker 1: we laughed about it. But you gotta be built a
Speaker 1: certain way to take the journey Gino Smith took. You
Speaker 1: gotta have a certain belief in self. You gotta have
Speaker 1: a certain personality about yourself. You have to be real
Speaker 1: with yourself. You gotta look at yourself in the mirror
Speaker 1: and say, oh, yes, this is my circumstances, this is
Speaker 1: the hand that I'm dealt. I'm gonna I'm gonna do
Speaker 1: what I gotta do with it. And that's what Gino did.
Speaker 1: He came in, He backed up Russell Wilson. He saw
Speaker 1: the lader of the land, and he saw that there
Speaker 1: was an opportunity. There was gonna be a job open here,
Speaker 1: and um he knew the offense. And Gino, just to
Speaker 1: let you know, Mike talking to him over this offseason,
Speaker 1: Gino thought that Drew Lock would get that job. And
Speaker 1: looking at the situation the Seahawks game, Drew Lock every
Speaker 1: opportunity to take that out, every single opportunity. And I
Speaker 1: remember having some you know, some personal conversations with Gino,
Speaker 1: and I'm just like Gino, I'm telling you, man, support
Speaker 1: Drew if he gets the job. You know what I'm saying,
Speaker 1: because you never know when your opportunity is gonna come up.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying. But just keep being you,
Speaker 1: just keep not turning the football over. I know coach Carroll,
Speaker 1: he is a defensive coach. Don't turn the football over, bro,
Speaker 1: You'll be I you know what I'm saying. Understand how
Speaker 1: to get the team in the you know, in the
Speaker 1: right play you gotta stand your head. Coach is the
Speaker 1: defensive coach, and Gino played it well. Man. He went
Speaker 1: out there and he performed. He's one of the most
Speaker 1: accurate quarterbacks in the National Football League. And again we
Speaker 1: talked about Kenneth Walker earlier in the episode that play
Speaker 1: action passed and had my old coach and Pete Carroll
Speaker 1: smiling again. So I would say that I do think
Speaker 1: he's the leader in the clubhouse. I would go with
Speaker 1: your got Kwan Barkley though. Man for me from the
Speaker 1: the New York Giants, and he's my guy to Penn State,
Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying. And I just I could
Speaker 1: hear the naysayers starting to say that this generational talent
Speaker 1: was a bus And I remember telling Kin that, like Brow,
Speaker 1: at some point, you're gonna have to have one of
Speaker 1: them years man, and he just had bad luck. It
Speaker 1: was a lot of health issues. He would the ability,
Speaker 1: the only guy offensively that they were leaning on. He
Speaker 1: would run the ball five six times in a row.
Speaker 1: And when you're running back and in this league, that
Speaker 1: that's when the injury start to pile up. He stayed healthy,
Speaker 1: his quarterback helped him out this year and Brian dave
Speaker 1: Ball helped him out this year with the play calling
Speaker 1: in the way he got him to football. So I
Speaker 1: would go with Sa Kwan Barkley only two games and
Speaker 1: had at five on the nine in three yards in
Speaker 1: thirteen games, and now he has over thirteen hundred yards
Speaker 1: mctin weston touchdowns with a four and a half yards
Speaker 1: per carry at rush average. So I would I would
Speaker 1: go with Sae Kwon Barkley has come back. Clearly. I'll
Speaker 1: throw out two other names for you. If you go
Speaker 1: Barkley and you reference the injuries, I'll say Christian McCaffrey
Speaker 1: right there, ten games over the previous two seasons. And
Speaker 1: yet here in San Francisco we knew once he got
Speaker 1: into this offense, we felt good about him thriving nearly
Speaker 1: scrimmage yards this season. Just wow, that's jaw dropping and
Speaker 1: he's done it in so many different ways for this
Speaker 1: team's offense. And Jared Goffman, like I was written for
Speaker 1: this dude. I felt bad for him to get and
Speaker 1: get pushed out of town after getting to a Super
Speaker 1: Bowl and just not being a part of the Rams
Speaker 1: and then going to Detroit, where there wasn't a track
Speaker 1: record of success. We watched his story unfold on Hard Knocks.
Speaker 1: I love this man. I hope he gets more opportunities,
Speaker 1: and they continued to put more pieces around him. The
Speaker 1: last two years proved to real mic Rock that Jared
Speaker 1: golf I was picked where he was supposed to be big,
Speaker 1: because before that I was like, I don't know about
Speaker 1: this guy. I mean the performance he had against the
Speaker 1: Green Bay Packers that did the seas, I mean all
Speaker 1: of those things. Man, I think he played himself into
Speaker 1: a long term job with the lines. Yeah, I agree
Speaker 1: with you. It's tough to find that quarterback. And I
Speaker 1: think in a lot of ways, Dan Campbell has been
Speaker 1: a perfect marriage for him, for for Jared Goff as well.
Speaker 1: I cannot wait to find out if m Rob is
Speaker 1: right across the board on his predictions. NFL Honors February nine,
Speaker 1: nine Eastern Time on NBC and Peacock. It is awesome
Speaker 1: to celebrate a lot of the individual success that these
Speaker 1: players have been able to. Gardner here and Rob always
Speaker 1: good to be with you, my friend, and we'll do
Speaker 1: it again