WEBVTT - Special Teams: 4th & 26 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:03.480 Welcome to Special Teams, a production of My Heart Radio 0:00:19.480 --> 0:00:22.560 Hello and Welcome inside. Special Teams with Jason Smith and 0:00:22.600 --> 0:00:26.599 Mike Harmon are weekly look back at a legendary team, 0:00:26.880 --> 0:00:29.720 legendary year in sports and what made that team or 0:00:29.880 --> 0:00:33.760 teams so notable. Something we're doing here over the course 0:00:33.760 --> 0:00:35.680 of the next few weeks is we are looking back 0:00:35.720 --> 0:00:38.279 as we get to play with the format at some 0:00:38.479 --> 0:00:42.040 incredibly famous games in NFL history and looking at the 0:00:42.040 --> 0:00:44.760 special teams that took place in them. Last week we 0:00:44.800 --> 0:00:47.479 did the Music City Miracle and this week, well, I 0:00:47.600 --> 0:00:50.680 just have three words for you. Fourth and twenty six. 0:00:52.400 --> 0:00:58.360 Every Eagles fan is smiling. Every Packers fan is going uh. 0:00:58.480 --> 0:01:02.800 January eleven, thousand and four NFL playoff game between the 0:01:02.840 --> 0:01:05.920 Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles, in which the Eagles converted 0:01:05.959 --> 0:01:08.120 one of the most famous players in NFL history a 0:01:08.200 --> 0:01:11.959 fourth and twenty six pass from Donnan McNabb to Freddie Mitchell, 0:01:12.360 --> 0:01:14.920 where all the Packers had to do was defend on 0:01:14.920 --> 0:01:17.560 one play. They were winning this game. Brett Farve was 0:01:17.600 --> 0:01:21.240 moving on in the playoffs, but instead the Eagles used 0:01:21.240 --> 0:01:23.319 that as a springboard to tie the game late in 0:01:23.319 --> 0:01:26.080 the fourth and win it in overtime. We're to look 0:01:26.080 --> 0:01:28.600 back at this game and the drama from both sides 0:01:28.640 --> 0:01:30.319 and what it meant for the Packers and what it 0:01:30.360 --> 0:01:33.559 meant for the Eagles. But this two thousand three, two 0:01:33.600 --> 0:01:36.679 thousand and four playoffs was really a sweet spot of 0:01:36.800 --> 0:01:39.640 NFL crazy because we had some of the more entertaining 0:01:39.640 --> 0:01:42.800 playoff games in recent memory. In this playoffs you had 0:01:42.840 --> 0:01:46.319 that big Panthers Rams game where Steve Smith scores a 0:01:46.319 --> 0:01:49.320 big touchdown, and overtime you had Tommy Maddox out dueling 0:01:49.400 --> 0:01:53.720 Kelly Holcomb. You know, I mean, seriously, Tommy Maddox outdueling 0:01:53.760 --> 0:01:56.040 Kelly Holcomb in a big game that the Steelers won. 0:01:56.360 --> 0:02:00.040 Thirty six thirty three, the last Brown's playoff game, And 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:03.000 I mean this was crazy, and fourth and six was 0:02:03.040 --> 0:02:04.640 the one that stands on top of all of them. 0:02:04.800 --> 0:02:08.400 When when you you just mentioned the quarterbacks, uh and 0:02:08.680 --> 0:02:11.640 play there that it really uh just takes you back 0:02:11.720 --> 0:02:15.399 to a different time and you start going into your 0:02:15.800 --> 0:02:19.000 NFL lore and just remember this is the time where 0:02:19.000 --> 0:02:22.480 you have the explosiveness of some of the passing attacks. Right, 0:02:22.520 --> 0:02:26.040 We've seen it in blips. Just remember, you know, two 0:02:26.080 --> 0:02:29.840 thousand three, two thousand four. Suddenly the leader boards looked 0:02:29.840 --> 0:02:34.280 a lot different with with the the augmented passing numbers, 0:02:34.360 --> 0:02:37.280 and when you're watching, you know Brett Farves still winging 0:02:37.360 --> 0:02:43.239 around haphazardly. Just how different the game was still as well? Right, 0:02:43.400 --> 0:02:46.280 just we talked about these luminaries, but you go back 0:02:46.320 --> 0:02:50.040 and you watch each hit looks more violent. And the quarterbacks, 0:02:50.200 --> 0:02:52.320 you know, just we're winging the ball and not worrying 0:02:52.320 --> 0:02:56.920 about their qbr uh this game? How did the teams 0:02:56.960 --> 0:03:00.800 get there? Well, the Philadelphia Eagles, led by Andy Reid, 0:03:00.840 --> 0:03:03.080 they were in the middle of their big run with 0:03:03.160 --> 0:03:05.480 Donna mcnabbic quarterback. They were the number one seed in 0:03:05.520 --> 0:03:08.560 the NFC. They won the NFC East. They were twelve 0:03:08.639 --> 0:03:10.959 and four. You know, they started out oh and two, 0:03:10.960 --> 0:03:14.080 but then they won nine straight games. Brian Westbrook had 0:03:14.120 --> 0:03:16.240 that very famous punt return for a touchdown in the 0:03:16.240 --> 0:03:18.840 final minutes against the Giants, and the Eagles, to a 0:03:18.880 --> 0:03:21.880 man all say that play really spurred us on this season. 0:03:22.240 --> 0:03:25.120 The Deuce Staley was the big running back back then, 0:03:25.200 --> 0:03:27.400 but he held out, so by the time he came in, 0:03:27.440 --> 0:03:30.920 it was Deuce Staley, Westbrook and Correll buck Halter. They 0:03:30.919 --> 0:03:34.120 had three headed monster. I remember having buck Halter on 0:03:34.160 --> 0:03:37.320 a fantasy team, you know, and and actually starting him 0:03:37.920 --> 0:03:39.560 for a few weeks because he was good at the 0:03:39.600 --> 0:03:42.200 goal line. Right, this is where you had a three 0:03:42.200 --> 0:03:47.160 headed monster in the backfield, and that by committee term 0:03:47.240 --> 0:03:49.800 came into our fantasy lexicon, one of those things where 0:03:49.800 --> 0:03:51.800 you draft Doo Stale and you go, oh, man, he 0:03:51.800 --> 0:03:54.440 held out. Now he's not getting the carries. Why is 0:03:54.440 --> 0:03:57.760 Staley sitting this series in Westbrook? Who's Carrel buck Halter? 0:03:57.920 --> 0:03:59.600 Why is he in the game? Well, and look at 0:03:59.640 --> 0:04:01.960 the side some buck Halter compared to the rest of 0:04:02.040 --> 0:04:06.000 these he looked like a giant when he was standing 0:04:06.040 --> 0:04:09.600 in the backfield. Uh, Donna McNabb. This was not one 0:04:09.640 --> 0:04:11.920 of his greatest starts to the season. It was kind 0:04:11.920 --> 0:04:14.200 of rocky, and there was a big push for a J. 0:04:14.440 --> 0:04:17.279 Feely to play. Remember McNabb's relationship with the Eagles and 0:04:17.279 --> 0:04:19.560 their fans was always kind of an arms length. They 0:04:19.600 --> 0:04:21.760 loved them, and then when he threw an incomplete pass, 0:04:21.800 --> 0:04:23.200 they hated him and wanted him out of the game. 0:04:23.920 --> 0:04:26.440 But a J. Feely, who was a pretty good backup, 0:04:26.480 --> 0:04:29.040 then you know, the teams wanted the fans wanted to 0:04:29.080 --> 0:04:33.200 see him playing. Their offense was really struggling. No wide 0:04:33.240 --> 0:04:36.719 receivers caught a touchdown the first half of the season. 0:04:37.400 --> 0:04:39.720 And this is not just a Donna McNabb thing, but 0:04:39.760 --> 0:04:43.440 the Eagles wide receivers were pretty bad. I mean Freddie Mitchell, 0:04:43.640 --> 0:04:45.240 who we're going to talk about a lot in this 0:04:45.279 --> 0:04:47.279 podcast because he caught the fourth and twenty six play. 0:04:47.400 --> 0:04:50.000 I mean, this is Freddie Mitchell and Todd Pinkson and 0:04:50.080 --> 0:04:52.520 James Thrash. I mean, what what do you expect Donna 0:04:52.600 --> 0:04:55.360 McNabb to do. None of these guys were any good. 0:04:55.440 --> 0:04:57.320 It was all right, let's just try to move on. 0:04:57.360 --> 0:04:59.200 But it's all McNab's fault. No, Eventually, you need a 0:04:59.240 --> 0:05:01.480 wide receiver to have more than, you know, half an 0:05:01.480 --> 0:05:04.800 inch of separation from the defensive back. Yeah. That as 0:05:04.839 --> 0:05:09.040 we watched in the twenty nineteen season with Tom Brady 0:05:09.160 --> 0:05:11.560 uh in his final year with the New England Patriots, 0:05:11.640 --> 0:05:13.479 Like you need you need a little bit of help. 0:05:13.520 --> 0:05:16.920 You can point to the quarterback and get after him 0:05:16.920 --> 0:05:19.279 all you want. There there is something to be said 0:05:19.400 --> 0:05:24.360 for creating a little bit of separation. The anticipatory nature 0:05:24.400 --> 0:05:27.120 of things is where you know, McNabb was always good 0:05:27.120 --> 0:05:31.960 about utilizing the tight end position well as well. But yeah, 0:05:32.040 --> 0:05:34.919 he he was always a guy that seemed under fire, 0:05:35.040 --> 0:05:40.240 and part of that is Philadelphia lore and unrealistic expectations. 0:05:41.080 --> 0:05:45.440 Brian Westbrook tears his biceps Week seventeen against Washington, so 0:05:45.480 --> 0:05:49.000 they lose him for the playoffs. However, the Philadelphi Eagles 0:05:49.000 --> 0:05:50.799 do get a buy the first round of the playoffs, 0:05:50.800 --> 0:05:53.160 so they are waiting to see who they're going to 0:05:53.240 --> 0:05:56.400 play now. The Green Bay Packers road to this game 0:05:56.440 --> 0:05:58.800 was a little bit different. Mike Sherman was the head coach. 0:05:58.839 --> 0:06:01.160 They finished ten and six. They won the NFC North 0:06:01.680 --> 0:06:06.760 this season, mainly known for Brett farve yard four touchdown 0:06:06.839 --> 0:06:09.120 performance the day after his dad, Herv died of a 0:06:09.160 --> 0:06:12.600 heart attack. Very famous Monday night football game where Farv 0:06:12.680 --> 0:06:15.760 decided to play and he goes, balls out, throws over 0:06:15.800 --> 0:06:18.599 three yards in the first half and they just crushed 0:06:18.600 --> 0:06:21.159 the Raiders. That's part of a four game win streak 0:06:21.200 --> 0:06:23.160 the Packers had to end the season. They were six 0:06:23.160 --> 0:06:25.719 and six, they ended ten and six, and they're back 0:06:25.720 --> 0:06:28.400 in the playoffs and the Packers are hot. I'm on 0:06:28.520 --> 0:06:30.640 green This was his best season with Green Bay ran 0:06:30.760 --> 0:06:33.640 for eighteen hundred yards over five yards per carry. He 0:06:33.800 --> 0:06:37.240 was fantastic. You had three good wide receivers and Donald 0:06:37.320 --> 0:06:40.839 Driver Javon Walker. Remember Robert Ferguson was even catching big 0:06:40.839 --> 0:06:44.880 passes Packers back then. And Antonio Freeman was there, but 0:06:44.880 --> 0:06:47.320 at this point Freeman was kind of passed his prime, 0:06:47.400 --> 0:06:50.120 but still he was someone there that Farv could rely on. 0:06:50.200 --> 0:06:51.880 So they had a lot of depth at wide receiver. 0:06:51.920 --> 0:06:53.840 They had a great running back. It was almost one 0:06:53.839 --> 0:06:56.960 of those times where you could see this team and go, Okay, 0:06:56.960 --> 0:06:59.200 they're peaking at the right time and they're gonna go 0:06:59.320 --> 0:07:01.400 hot night through better through the playoff, doesn't matter who 0:07:01.400 --> 0:07:03.840 they play, because look how red hot they are. Look 0:07:03.880 --> 0:07:06.159 at everything they can do on offense, and that's good. 0:07:06.360 --> 0:07:07.760 I thought that was gonna happen. I never thought the 0:07:07.760 --> 0:07:09.279 Eagles are gonna win this with ball game. I said, 0:07:09.279 --> 0:07:12.440 all Packers got this far is hot coming off the emotion. 0:07:12.480 --> 0:07:15.000 The Packers are still riding that high. Yeah, they're gonna 0:07:15.040 --> 0:07:17.080 go through there, going to the super Bowl. Well, when 0:07:17.120 --> 0:07:20.360 you look at I think this is always a great 0:07:20.440 --> 0:07:23.520 example when we do these special teams. Look back, you 0:07:23.560 --> 0:07:26.360 know in the time where people are going in and 0:07:26.720 --> 0:07:31.320 doing the retro binge watching great games, the last dance, 0:07:31.760 --> 0:07:36.560 and you recognize how good, uh, certain players were or 0:07:36.800 --> 0:07:39.760 what a team brought to the table, and you recognize 0:07:39.800 --> 0:07:42.880 how good I'm on Green was. I mean, look at 0:07:42.880 --> 0:07:46.240 a guy that's you know, two thousand total yards you know, 0:07:46.400 --> 0:07:50.640 back at this time, and the the the different players 0:07:50.680 --> 0:07:54.720 in the receiving corps. Maybe not the superstar, but depth 0:07:55.360 --> 0:07:57.960 that you get to work through, uh. And it's tough 0:07:58.000 --> 0:08:02.000 to replicate those things these days. Man salary caps for 0:08:02.120 --> 0:08:05.320 a lot of that two or three guys commit to 0:08:05.640 --> 0:08:07.560 you know, most of your money on one side of 0:08:07.600 --> 0:08:09.680 the ball. And then let's say, all right, what can 0:08:09.720 --> 0:08:11.600 we get the end of the draft or a guy 0:08:11.640 --> 0:08:15.000 that's you know, worn out is welcome somewhere else. So 0:08:15.120 --> 0:08:17.240 the Packers end of the playoffs as kind of the 0:08:17.280 --> 0:08:20.320 team of destiny, they had really short up their run defense. 0:08:20.360 --> 0:08:22.840 They got Grady Jackson off the waivers middle of the season, 0:08:23.120 --> 0:08:26.240 and they started allowing like thirty yards less rushing per games. 0:08:26.360 --> 0:08:29.440 Suddenly they figured it all out, big old Grady Jackson. 0:08:29.640 --> 0:08:33.760 Their playoff win was the now famous overtime win over 0:08:33.840 --> 0:08:36.800 the Seattle Seahawks, in which Matt Hasselbeck, who had been 0:08:36.800 --> 0:08:39.920 far as backup, was now the starting quarterback for the Seahawks. 0:08:40.200 --> 0:08:43.640 They had the opening coin flip for the play for 0:08:43.720 --> 0:08:46.920 the overtime and the Seahawks win, and the referee says, okay, 0:08:46.960 --> 0:08:48.680 the Seahawks win. What do you want? What do you want? 0:08:48.679 --> 0:08:51.319 And Matt Hasselbeck yells into the referees Mike the now 0:08:51.400 --> 0:08:54.320 famous we want the ball and we're gonna score. And 0:08:54.600 --> 0:08:58.400 seventeen years ago man on the first possession of overtime, 0:08:58.800 --> 0:09:03.000 Matt Hasselbeck throws touchdown pass to Al Harris of the Packers, 0:09:03.000 --> 0:09:05.800 who returns at fifty two yards for a touchdown. The 0:09:05.920 --> 0:09:10.000 pick six sends the Packers onto Philadelphia and end the 0:09:10.040 --> 0:09:13.120 season for the Seahawks. And I remember seeing going, how 0:09:13.200 --> 0:09:16.000 is Matt Hasselbeck gonna put his head out of his house? Uh? 0:09:16.040 --> 0:09:18.280 And for the next ten years. We want the ball, 0:09:18.320 --> 0:09:20.320 We're gonna score, And I throw a pick six and 0:09:20.360 --> 0:09:21.959 Al Harris runs it back for a touchdown. To me? 0:09:22.120 --> 0:09:25.240 But how great was that? Though? Didn't you love hassleback 0:09:25.280 --> 0:09:29.280 even though it went the other way? I just that 0:09:29.480 --> 0:09:32.040 I was always a hassleback fan was from that day. 0:09:32.280 --> 0:09:34.640 I think I could probably still find a healthy stack 0:09:34.679 --> 0:09:39.480 of hassleback cards amongst my football memorabilia in the house, 0:09:39.679 --> 0:09:42.800 just based on that. See, I liked his swag. I 0:09:42.880 --> 0:09:45.199 wasn't so much because I remember having him in fantasy 0:09:45.240 --> 0:09:47.400 a couple of times, and he never really came through. 0:09:48.280 --> 0:09:50.160 Has had him at the wrong time. It's hey, if 0:09:50.200 --> 0:09:52.800 if you take a player and he scars you in fantasy, 0:09:52.840 --> 0:09:55.520 you'll never forgive him. No, that's true. There's always that 0:09:55.679 --> 0:10:00.240 undraftable list. Well, we'll be working on that for fantasy. 0:10:00.400 --> 0:10:03.280 You know, certainly for me that the extra thing was 0:10:03.360 --> 0:10:06.320 the Packers or the opponent in that game. And you know, 0:10:06.440 --> 0:10:10.480 being a Chicago boy, Uh, certainly there was a little 0:10:10.480 --> 0:10:12.160 bit of animus, you know, because I also had a 0:10:12.240 --> 0:10:16.920 Jaworski jersey and an Eagles bike as a kid. Did 0:10:16.960 --> 0:10:21.000 you really Yeah, so when you got to the Eagles later, 0:10:21.800 --> 0:10:24.440 that was that was you know, your your cheer in there. 0:10:24.480 --> 0:10:27.880 But certainly Hasselbeck, you know, was the first beneficiary. Yeah. No, 0:10:27.960 --> 0:10:31.360 I don't know why. And you know, all these years 0:10:31.440 --> 0:10:33.360 later I tried to ask my mom. It's like, didn't 0:10:33.360 --> 0:10:37.200 make any sense. It was like what you could buy 0:10:37.240 --> 0:10:38.839 at the Sporting Good story I think that might have 0:10:38.880 --> 0:10:41.000 been in all the Bear stuff. It was either you know, 0:10:41.120 --> 0:10:44.880 full price or sold out. I love you, but not 0:10:45.000 --> 0:10:47.200 enough to buy you a full price you really if 0:10:47.200 --> 0:10:49.920 you were able to get a different team for half off. Look, 0:10:49.920 --> 0:10:56.440 there's pictures of my younger brother and Raiders gear. That's like, 0:10:56.480 --> 0:10:58.240 you know, you know what your family must look like 0:10:58.240 --> 0:11:01.440 like when when a star sign somewhere for the last 0:11:01.480 --> 0:11:03.000 year of their career and they look really weird in 0:11:03.040 --> 0:11:05.600 the uniform. That must be what it looks like. Look 0:11:05.600 --> 0:11:07.600 at my brothers in a Raiders uniform. I got an 0:11:07.600 --> 0:11:10.320 Eagles bike. No, it's weird. You go back and you 0:11:10.360 --> 0:11:12.360 look at some of the pictures as kids, it's like 0:11:12.400 --> 0:11:15.400 there were still Bear stuff around. But it's like there's 0:11:15.440 --> 0:11:18.760 me with an Eagles jersey on why the hell is 0:11:18.800 --> 0:11:21.080 he wearing? And for a while, my little brother would 0:11:21.120 --> 0:11:24.199 wear a Packers you know, he had a Lynn Dickey jersey. 0:11:24.320 --> 0:11:30.320 That wow, But that's got to be Harris. You can't 0:11:30.320 --> 0:11:32.480 wear a Packers jersey if you're a Bears fan. If 0:11:32.480 --> 0:11:36.240 you're really young, alright, okay, you're if you you're really young, 0:11:36.360 --> 0:11:38.400 the parents gonna wear it before you could get beat 0:11:38.440 --> 0:11:40.240 up at school. It's got to be he can't be 0:11:40.280 --> 0:11:46.640 at the age to fight. So with all of this 0:11:46.800 --> 0:11:50.640 going on, the Packers go into Philadelphia for the next 0:11:50.679 --> 0:11:53.800 playoff game. Coming up next, we'll relive fourth and twenty six, 0:11:54.280 --> 0:11:56.520 what happened to the Green Bay Packers, how they could 0:11:56.559 --> 0:11:59.760 have stopped the play from even happening, and maybe even better, 0:12:00.280 --> 0:12:03.319 what happened to Freddie Mitchell following fourth and twenty six. 0:12:03.800 --> 0:12:06.680 Keep it right here. You are listening to Special Teams 0:12:06.679 --> 0:12:26.800 with Jason Smith and Mike Armon. So how did we 0:12:26.880 --> 0:12:29.000 get to fourth and twenty six? The play that will 0:12:29.040 --> 0:12:32.719 live forever in Philadelphia Eagles Lord just as much as 0:12:32.840 --> 0:12:36.240 well Nick falls catching a touchdown pass. Well, the Packers 0:12:36.280 --> 0:12:39.160 come in as the team of Destiny Red five story 0:12:39.200 --> 0:12:41.880 front page, playing for the memory of his dad. It 0:12:42.000 --> 0:12:44.280 was a very big time for them. The Eagles were 0:12:44.320 --> 0:12:46.440 a team that were in Green Bay's way, and it 0:12:46.480 --> 0:12:48.680 looked like it was gonna gonna go green Bay's way. 0:12:49.000 --> 0:12:52.760 Early on, far throws two touchdown passes to Robert Ferguson 0:12:52.880 --> 0:12:55.960 and the Packers take a big fourteen nothing lead. But 0:12:56.520 --> 0:13:00.360 with the game at fourteen seven, a huge play happens 0:13:00.400 --> 0:13:03.199 at the end of the first half as armand green 0:13:03.320 --> 0:13:06.720 gets stopped on fourth down inside the five yard line. 0:13:07.000 --> 0:13:09.120 So instead of going to halftime with Green Bay with 0:13:09.160 --> 0:13:12.240 a seventeen seven lead or one seven lead, it's a 0:13:12.280 --> 0:13:15.439 one score game. Despite the fact that Green Bay dominated 0:13:15.840 --> 0:13:18.960 the way they did, why is this such a big play? Well, 0:13:19.000 --> 0:13:21.480 in the second half, Philadelphia claude their way back in it. 0:13:21.720 --> 0:13:24.640 They threw the football all game long, and they're down 0:13:24.720 --> 0:13:28.000 seventeen fourteen. With just over two minutes left to go, 0:13:28.679 --> 0:13:31.320 Green Bay is facing a fourth and one from the 0:13:31.360 --> 0:13:34.800 Philadelphia forty one yard line. They go for it and 0:13:34.800 --> 0:13:37.559 get the first down. Well, guess what, they're running out 0:13:37.559 --> 0:13:40.720 the clock. The game is over. But instead they decide 0:13:40.760 --> 0:13:43.520 to punt and give the ball back to the Eagles. 0:13:43.800 --> 0:13:46.480 And you wonder how much they remembered. Well, fourth and 0:13:46.520 --> 0:13:48.440 one in the first half, the Eagles d rose up 0:13:48.480 --> 0:13:50.880 and stopped on on green inside the five yard line. 0:13:51.240 --> 0:13:53.240 Let's punt it, make him get all the way down 0:13:53.240 --> 0:13:55.760 the field. I have confidence in our defense to do it. 0:13:56.040 --> 0:13:58.440 Certainly something that Packers fans looking back going, Man, if 0:13:58.440 --> 0:13:59.960 we had gone for it on fourth and one, we'd 0:14:00.080 --> 0:14:03.360 gotten one yard somehow far would have gotten us one 0:14:03.440 --> 0:14:06.520 yard we win this game and there's no fourth. But 0:14:06.559 --> 0:14:08.800 it's funny we we do that all the time, right 0:14:08.920 --> 0:14:12.080 with the inability of some teams to run a quarterback 0:14:12.080 --> 0:14:15.719 sneak looking at you, the Chargers with Philip Rivers all 0:14:15.720 --> 0:14:18.960 these years because he wouldn't run it, or in different 0:14:18.960 --> 0:14:23.280 play calling and sometimes you just overthink it. Right, that 0:14:23.400 --> 0:14:25.840 should be an automatic call unless you're at your own 0:14:25.880 --> 0:14:29.560 eighteen yard line. You know, you just you get your yard, 0:14:29.960 --> 0:14:34.120 succeed and proceed. And even then the numbers would suggest 0:14:34.160 --> 0:14:37.240 you go for it. Although you know the conservatism of coaches, 0:14:37.240 --> 0:14:40.840 they're not going to figuring, you know the old whatever 0:14:40.920 --> 0:14:45.320 can happen and go wrong will But yeah, having been 0:14:45.600 --> 0:14:49.680 stuffed before, you don't take your chances and just say 0:14:49.680 --> 0:14:52.520 we're a playoff team. Our defense is played well to 0:14:52.640 --> 0:14:54.840 this point, they should be able to finish the job. 0:14:54.920 --> 0:14:58.800 I can't I can't disagree on the whole. The punt 0:14:58.840 --> 0:15:01.480 works though for the Packers, and they pin the Eagles 0:15:01.520 --> 0:15:04.640 deep in their own territory. Do Stanley a play that 0:15:04.800 --> 0:15:07.360 is really under underrated when it comes to the fourth 0:15:07.400 --> 0:15:10.640 and twenty six play A starts out the drive and 0:15:10.720 --> 0:15:13.120 gets them out of trouble, runs for twenty two yards. 0:15:13.120 --> 0:15:15.440 Now that's a huge play because now suddenly you're out 0:15:15.480 --> 0:15:17.680 over the twenty yard line and you're thinking, Okay, we 0:15:17.720 --> 0:15:19.600 gotta get down, we gotta get a field goal because 0:15:19.600 --> 0:15:23.080 we gotta go to overtime. But mcdan throws an incomplete pass, 0:15:23.120 --> 0:15:26.680 there's a penalty, a couple more incomplete passes, and now 0:15:27.000 --> 0:15:29.920 from their twenty six yard line, the Eagles are faced 0:15:30.120 --> 0:15:33.560 with fourth and twenty six with a minute twelve left 0:15:33.840 --> 0:15:36.560 and no time outs. So this is when they decide 0:15:36.840 --> 0:15:40.320 to call seventy four double go, which turns into Freddie 0:15:40.360 --> 0:15:43.480 Mitchell catching that pass that winds up being good for 0:15:43.640 --> 0:15:47.600 twenty eight yards. You've seen the play many times. We're 0:15:47.640 --> 0:15:50.160 gonna break it down for you right now because there's 0:15:50.320 --> 0:15:53.080 not only just a question marks as to what the 0:15:53.080 --> 0:15:55.840 packers were doing, but what the officials were doing as well. 0:15:56.560 --> 0:15:59.600 So how does this play happen? Right? Freddie Mitchell runs 0:16:00.120 --> 0:16:02.880 unencumbered right down the middle of the field and he 0:16:02.920 --> 0:16:06.720 catches a pass in front of both Darren Sharper and 0:16:06.840 --> 0:16:09.480 Marcus Anderson, the two safeties. I mean, he runs, he 0:16:09.520 --> 0:16:12.560 doesn't get knocked off his route by anybody. He just 0:16:12.640 --> 0:16:15.160 runs unencumbered down the field. It's one of those plays 0:16:15.200 --> 0:16:17.560 where when you look at the way the Packers played 0:16:17.560 --> 0:16:20.160 their defense, it looks like one of those Well, there's 0:16:20.160 --> 0:16:22.800 ten seconds left in the game, and if they throw 0:16:22.840 --> 0:16:24.320 to the middle of the field, the game is over. 0:16:24.600 --> 0:16:26.520 So we're just gonna guard the outside and not let 0:16:26.520 --> 0:16:28.200 them get out of bounds. I mean, that's really what 0:16:28.280 --> 0:16:30.160 that looked like. The defense they were playing. Like you 0:16:30.200 --> 0:16:32.400 can catch a twenty yard pass, but you're gonna get 0:16:32.440 --> 0:16:34.240 to midfield. But that time you get up here, camp 0:16:34.240 --> 0:16:36.360 spike the ball, the game is over. That looked like 0:16:36.400 --> 0:16:39.920 the defense that the Packers were in, plus sits spread 0:16:39.920 --> 0:16:42.960 it out and make a play and you got I 0:16:43.000 --> 0:16:45.280 mean thinking that you're gonna be able to pin them, 0:16:45.360 --> 0:16:49.880 keep them in bounds and and get clock running, and 0:16:50.080 --> 0:16:54.760 instead you have an absolute disaster. And the broadcast crew 0:16:54.880 --> 0:16:59.120 was very quick to point this out. Chris collins Worth 0:16:59.680 --> 0:17:03.840 most chiefly ready to bring out the acid tongue. You know. 0:17:03.880 --> 0:17:06.880 The couple of things with this play is that that 0:17:07.320 --> 0:17:10.080 later on Mike Sherman would talk about it, ed Donna 0:17:10.080 --> 0:17:12.200 Tell the defensive coordinator will talking about it and say, well, 0:17:12.320 --> 0:17:14.600 here's a couple of things and the one thing they 0:17:14.640 --> 0:17:16.520 look at is, say Nick Barnett, who want up having 0:17:16.520 --> 0:17:19.959 a great career for the Packers. When the ball was snapped, 0:17:19.960 --> 0:17:22.440 he ran up instead of dropping back, and that led 0:17:22.440 --> 0:17:24.800 Freddie Mitchell run into the middle of fieland Donna McNabb 0:17:25.160 --> 0:17:27.480 had an eyeline and a sight line to throw to 0:17:27.560 --> 0:17:29.120 him where he would have had to throw the ball 0:17:29.119 --> 0:17:32.040 in the pickle barrel if Nick Barnett drops back into 0:17:32.040 --> 0:17:33.679 the middle of the field where he should be, so 0:17:33.720 --> 0:17:36.359 that makes it a much easier throw for McNabb. So 0:17:36.440 --> 0:17:39.000 for some reason Barnett goes forward instead of dropping back. 0:17:39.400 --> 0:17:41.280 But I watched the safeties on this, and I watched 0:17:41.320 --> 0:17:44.640 Darren Sharp and Marcus Anderson and this, this this quint 0:17:44.760 --> 0:17:47.199 essentially looks to me like it was two guys who 0:17:47.240 --> 0:17:49.840 were saying, I'm gonna play center field, get interception to 0:17:49.880 --> 0:17:52.119 be a hero. I'm waiting for the ball to be thrown. 0:17:52.160 --> 0:17:54.360 They're not. They're gonna throw it here. I'm gonna jump 0:17:54.400 --> 0:17:56.400 up and I'm gonna catch the ball and I'm going 0:17:56.440 --> 0:17:58.440 to be a hero, or I'm gonna make a big 0:17:58.440 --> 0:18:00.960 play at the marker. I'm gonna make a big hit, 0:18:01.320 --> 0:18:03.720 and no one's gonna catch the football. But that's what 0:18:03.760 --> 0:18:05.639 it looked like. They were sitting back waiting for the 0:18:05.640 --> 0:18:07.639 ball to come to them so they could be the heroes. 0:18:07.680 --> 0:18:10.639 And instead Mitchell catches the ball in front of both 0:18:10.680 --> 0:18:12.560 of them. Neither of them come up and make a play. 0:18:12.640 --> 0:18:15.040 Now he gets hit right away, but neither of them 0:18:15.119 --> 0:18:16.600 come up and make a play on the ball. Make 0:18:16.640 --> 0:18:18.600 a play. When the ball is thrown, he's able to 0:18:18.640 --> 0:18:21.160 catch it. I was stunned how open he was. There 0:18:21.240 --> 0:18:23.800 was no one even near the first down marker. Because 0:18:23.800 --> 0:18:26.840 when this ball is thrown in the air, both Sharper 0:18:26.880 --> 0:18:29.320 and Anderson are are three yards passed it, And it's like, 0:18:29.359 --> 0:18:30.960 what do you do? Did they not know where the 0:18:30.960 --> 0:18:34.399 first down marker Wasn't they think they were two yards 0:18:34.880 --> 0:18:36.919 where they were supposed to be, but instead they were 0:18:36.920 --> 0:18:39.240 two yards back from it. Because that that was something 0:18:39.280 --> 0:18:41.239 that should have never happened. You gotta put all your 0:18:41.240 --> 0:18:43.040 guys at the marker. I mean, if it's fourth and 0:18:43.760 --> 0:18:45.080 you gotta have your guys in the middle of the 0:18:45.080 --> 0:18:47.280 field at the first down marker, and these guys were 0:18:47.320 --> 0:18:50.119 two yards behind it. Yeah, he's seen the play of before. 0:18:50.320 --> 0:18:52.560 He had a big shot down the center of the field, 0:18:52.600 --> 0:18:55.360 the old jump up and down claiming that your tight 0:18:55.480 --> 0:18:59.760 ends interfered with uh to no avail uh. And then 0:18:59.800 --> 0:19:04.480 you set up pretty much in the exact same defense. 0:19:05.200 --> 0:19:08.560 Mc NAB's got plenty of time to throw. Mitchell doesn't 0:19:08.760 --> 0:19:13.000 get touched at all. Still still question of the spot, Well, 0:19:13.000 --> 0:19:16.679 that's where the ball gets there. If that's that's the 0:19:16.720 --> 0:19:19.359 controversy that comes out, is that if you believe the 0:19:19.400 --> 0:19:21.160 red line, because back then it was a red lock. 0:19:21.720 --> 0:19:24.239 Freddie Mitchell got the first down, but as always, you know, 0:19:24.280 --> 0:19:27.800 the red line is unofficial, but got an extra two 0:19:27.880 --> 0:19:31.159 yards on that. Like he went down, he caught it 0:19:31.240 --> 0:19:34.080 went down basically at the line. But if you're going 0:19:34.119 --> 0:19:36.440 by the red line, he got the first down. Yeah, 0:19:36.520 --> 0:19:38.680 you said the red line is pretty accurate. But they 0:19:38.720 --> 0:19:41.800 put the ball two yards further down the field. And 0:19:41.960 --> 0:19:43.879 Joe buck was the guy said it right away, said, whoa, 0:19:44.080 --> 0:19:47.320 that's a that's a generous spot for the Philadelphia Eagles. 0:19:47.320 --> 0:19:50.080 And look, the Eagles are all going crazy. Freddie Mitchell, 0:19:50.160 --> 0:19:52.600 you know, catches this pass and it was, oh my goodness, 0:19:52.600 --> 0:19:54.879 and and now they got all kinds of momentum. But really, 0:19:55.320 --> 0:19:57.760 I mean, there's a lot to say that maybe he 0:19:57.800 --> 0:20:00.000 didn't get past the first down marker, Like I said, 0:20:00.080 --> 0:20:01.639 if you believe the red line, and I believe the 0:20:01.680 --> 0:20:05.080 red line, but was the red line really accurate? Should 0:20:05.080 --> 0:20:07.560 have been a first nown, I mean, too extra. You 0:20:07.600 --> 0:20:10.720 can't give a guy to extra yards well, you know 0:20:10.920 --> 0:20:14.639 for foreign progress or something like that or whatever you 0:20:14.760 --> 0:20:18.320 thought you saw on the sidelines. And it is. It 0:20:18.480 --> 0:20:21.400 is really curious because he gets he gets Malachi crunched, 0:20:21.520 --> 0:20:24.600 going to the old Happy Days reference, you know, right 0:20:24.640 --> 0:20:28.120 after he makes the leaping grab, and there's just this 0:20:28.240 --> 0:20:30.800 moment of all right, did I get it? Did I 0:20:31.119 --> 0:20:34.199 get not? Credits? Donovan Canab immediately got him up to 0:20:34.200 --> 0:20:37.200