WEBVTT - Super Bowl Preview: Rams Offense/Bengals Defense 0:00:04.960 --> 0:00:08.480 Another episode here on tape beds as we take a 0:00:08.520 --> 0:00:11.240 look at the upcoming Super Bowl matchup between the Rams 0:00:11.240 --> 0:00:14.000 and the Bengals. And on Tuesday Bobo Shoes and longtime 0:00:14.080 --> 0:00:16.400 radio voice the Jets Standardlovski You see and all the 0:00:16.400 --> 0:00:20.200 Time is our NFL tape breakdown expert on ESPN, longtime 0:00:20.320 --> 0:00:22.560 NFL quarterback, it's Scott the Onlie of course, a long 0:00:22.600 --> 0:00:25.920 time NFL general manager. We spent Tuesday talking about when 0:00:25.960 --> 0:00:28.240 the Bengals have the ball, what will the Rams do? 0:00:28.280 --> 0:00:31.560 How will they attack Joe Burrow? And it's a great 0:00:31.640 --> 0:00:34.640 chess match back and forth on that side. Today we 0:00:34.720 --> 0:00:37.839 flipped the chess pieces around and we talked about Matthew Stafford, 0:00:38.240 --> 0:00:42.320 this Rams offense and a Bengals defense that probably hasn't 0:00:42.360 --> 0:00:45.360 gotten the headlines this season that maybe they deserve because 0:00:45.760 --> 0:00:48.840 of the terrific year that Joe Burrow and Jamaar Chase 0:00:48.880 --> 0:00:51.000 and all the weapons for the Bengals have had, but 0:00:51.440 --> 0:00:54.520 they have been impactful so far in this postseason. They've 0:00:54.560 --> 0:00:56.520 got a couple of pass rushers on the edge that 0:00:56.560 --> 0:00:59.160 have gotten to the quarterback and have made noise and guys, 0:00:59.160 --> 0:01:01.840 maybe that's where we start this game. Always seems to 0:01:01.920 --> 0:01:05.440 be ultimately decided in the trenches. This is a much 0:01:05.560 --> 0:01:09.319 different offensive line in front of Matthew Stafford than Burrow 0:01:09.400 --> 0:01:12.000 has in front of him. Now he might be facing 0:01:12.280 --> 0:01:14.479 a different kind of pass rush, different kind of scheme 0:01:14.520 --> 0:01:17.199 strategy from the Bengals this week as well. So, Scott, 0:01:17.240 --> 0:01:20.440 do you, when you look at this game see this 0:01:21.000 --> 0:01:24.160 as a blitz game for the Bengals? Is this just 0:01:24.280 --> 0:01:26.800 a we're gonna trust Hubbard and Hendrickson to get home, 0:01:26.840 --> 0:01:28.560 We're gonna rush for what? What do you think, at 0:01:28.600 --> 0:01:31.280 least at the start that we're gonna see schematically pass 0:01:31.360 --> 0:01:34.440 rush wise from the Rams are from the Bengals against 0:01:34.440 --> 0:01:37.640 this Rams offense. I think it's gonna start out pretty vanilla, 0:01:37.760 --> 0:01:42.200 quite honestly, because you know lu Lu Ram rumo Um, 0:01:42.240 --> 0:01:47.200 their defensive coordinator is really he's a little bit reactionary. 0:01:47.200 --> 0:01:49.320 And I say that in the most respectful of ways. 0:01:49.640 --> 0:01:52.720 As we watch the Bengals defense this season, what they 0:01:52.760 --> 0:01:56.920 do an incredible job of is reacting and responding to 0:01:56.960 --> 0:01:59.360 the game plan that the offense has. And I think 0:01:59.400 --> 0:02:01.680 what Lou does sometimes is he says, Okay, I'm gonna 0:02:01.680 --> 0:02:04.800 get the temperature, see what's going on, I'm gonna play 0:02:04.800 --> 0:02:07.960 some basic stuff, but then once I get a beat 0:02:08.000 --> 0:02:10.760 on what they're going to do offensively, then I am 0:02:10.840 --> 0:02:14.160 going to react. So truly, I've been fascinated watching him 0:02:14.160 --> 0:02:17.200 this year. We saw even you know, last in the 0:02:17.240 --> 0:02:19.960 a f C Championship game, the Bengals come out, they're 0:02:20.000 --> 0:02:22.200 they're letting up a bunch in the first half, and 0:02:22.400 --> 0:02:25.440 second half they shut them down as the game every 0:02:25.480 --> 0:02:28.000 time this season are certainly in the second half of 0:02:28.000 --> 0:02:31.240 the season, it seems like Lou does something and he 0:02:31.320 --> 0:02:35.920 gets an idea. It's similar but different to working with 0:02:36.040 --> 0:02:38.720 Romeo Cornell Bill Belichick. They get a beat on what 0:02:38.760 --> 0:02:42.160 the offense is doing and then they react and respond 0:02:42.280 --> 0:02:45.280 and play defense based on what the offense is doing. 0:02:45.280 --> 0:02:47.839 And I think that's what we're gonna see because right now, 0:02:47.919 --> 0:02:50.200 when you look at this offense and the number of 0:02:51.240 --> 0:02:54.480 weapons that they have offensively, starting with the trigger man, 0:02:54.720 --> 0:02:58.120 I mean, Matthew just keeps getting better. The more comfortable 0:02:58.200 --> 0:03:01.400 he gets with O'Dell, the more I mean, he's clearly 0:03:01.440 --> 0:03:04.760 comfortable with Cooper Cup. Now they've got Sony Michelle and 0:03:04.960 --> 0:03:08.600 cam Akers. To me, I think that loose sits back 0:03:08.680 --> 0:03:11.000 and again when I say sits back. I don't think passively, 0:03:11.360 --> 0:03:13.120 but I think he gets a line on what they're 0:03:13.160 --> 0:03:15.839 doing and then reacts to it. I agree. I think 0:03:15.840 --> 0:03:17.600 it's a rolodex. That's what we used to call it. 0:03:17.639 --> 0:03:19.880 You just get a rolodex of calls, you know. And 0:03:19.960 --> 0:03:22.280 that's the challenge for Sean McVeigh in this offense. So 0:03:23.040 --> 0:03:26.440 this is probably the most fascinating part of this football 0:03:26.480 --> 0:03:28.880 game for me. So let's go back a couple of years. 0:03:28.919 --> 0:03:31.680 Sean McVeigh goes into the Super Bowl against the the 0:03:31.760 --> 0:03:34.040 Newing the Patriots. Their offense is on goodly and all 0:03:34.080 --> 0:03:36.200 of a sudden, the Patriots go, this is what we're 0:03:36.240 --> 0:03:38.120 gonna do, and you don't know it, and we're gonna 0:03:38.160 --> 0:03:41.440 give you something that you're not ready for. And Sean 0:03:41.600 --> 0:03:44.680 just couldn't adjust. And then they went in the first half, 0:03:44.720 --> 0:03:47.160 they played one coverage, in the second half, they majored 0:03:47.200 --> 0:03:51.280 in another coverage and Sean couldn't adjust. That's very much 0:03:51.320 --> 0:03:53.800 so Whulu in a rumo, the defensive Cornya for the 0:03:53.800 --> 0:03:57.360 Bengals that Scott talked about has become it's so game 0:03:57.400 --> 0:04:01.240 plan specific, and then it's so within the game specific. 0:04:01.680 --> 0:04:04.320 Now this isn't working, or this is what they're doing, 0:04:04.400 --> 0:04:06.320 this is what we're gonna go to, and it's he 0:04:06.440 --> 0:04:09.640 quickly makes changes, not know only not only of what 0:04:09.680 --> 0:04:11.760 they can't do anymore, but what they should do to 0:04:11.800 --> 0:04:15.280 attack offenses. And I think that's the challenge for Sean 0:04:15.400 --> 0:04:17.880 is how ready is he going to be for things 0:04:17.880 --> 0:04:20.400 that he's not ready for and how quickly he can 0:04:20.440 --> 0:04:22.520 adjust into the things that they need to get to. 0:04:22.600 --> 0:04:26.719 And so when you do that defensively, what it forces 0:04:26.960 --> 0:04:30.240 us offensive people to do is guess rather than predict. 0:04:30.520 --> 0:04:32.880 And that's the worst place for us to be. It's 0:04:32.920 --> 0:04:35.520 third and six. I got no stinking clue but what 0:04:35.520 --> 0:04:37.599 they're gonna do? Do I need to go coverage? Do 0:04:37.680 --> 0:04:39.159 I needed to go concept? Do I need to go 0:04:39.200 --> 0:04:41.160 middlefield open? Do I need to go middle field closed? 0:04:41.160 --> 0:04:44.200 Do I need to get crossers doing? And that's the challenge, candidly, 0:04:44.640 --> 0:04:47.240 and I think that you know, specifically, Bob, I, I 0:04:47.279 --> 0:04:49.520 do not think they are going to pressure. I think 0:04:49.520 --> 0:04:53.040 if you pressure, goodnight, Irene, because it's you don't you 0:04:53.080 --> 0:04:55.520 don't blitz this quarterback, you don't blitz this offense. It's 0:04:55.640 --> 0:04:59.120 bad bad news. I think this the second really interesting 0:04:59.160 --> 0:05:02.640 part of this matchup is Cooper Cup versus Mike Hilton. 0:05:03.160 --> 0:05:06.159 You know Cooper Cup in the playoffs, guys, twenty five 0:05:06.160 --> 0:05:11.440 catches for yards and four touchdowns. Okay, that's on thirty 0:05:11.440 --> 0:05:14.480 three targets. He's playing in the slot predominantly. Mike Hilton, 0:05:14.720 --> 0:05:18.640 the nickel corner for Cincinnati, has given up three catches 0:05:18.839 --> 0:05:22.120 this postseason. We're talking good on good dog on dog, 0:05:22.200 --> 0:05:24.720 who wins that matchup. So I think you trust your 0:05:24.720 --> 0:05:27.160 coverage guys. That the way that they've started to use 0:05:27.200 --> 0:05:30.320 Sam Hubbard as an off the ball player is fascinating, 0:05:30.520 --> 0:05:33.680 and that different places they're moving him around is giving 0:05:33.680 --> 0:05:37.120 those simulations and creating matchups for that. And I'd say this, 0:05:37.279 --> 0:05:39.360 Matthew Stafford will have to have his best game of 0:05:39.400 --> 0:05:41.640 the season when it comes to ball placement. The Bankers 0:05:41.680 --> 0:05:44.480 are gonna play man coverage. Now. Their man coverage is 0:05:44.720 --> 0:05:47.279 positioned really well and they play with the great leverage 0:05:47.360 --> 0:05:50.080 and they dropped down guys from you know, you're constantly 0:05:50.120 --> 0:05:53.599 making the quarterback think mentally. But his ball placement versus 0:05:53.600 --> 0:05:55.800 where that sticky coverage is gonna be is is gonna 0:05:55.839 --> 0:05:58.120 be a big part. Yeah, you know, the other thing 0:05:58.160 --> 0:06:02.039 I think that I could see the Rams doing at 0:06:02.160 --> 0:06:05.760 some point in time. And this is just instincts because 0:06:05.760 --> 0:06:08.440 of the personalities of the folks involved in in the 0:06:08.520 --> 0:06:13.000 Rams offense. They are going to target Eli Apple and 0:06:13.040 --> 0:06:16.360 they're gonna try to do something to get him because 0:06:17.040 --> 0:06:20.440 they know he can be gotten. We talked about matchups though, 0:06:20.800 --> 0:06:24.640 and kind of back to Hilton Cooper cup, is that 0:06:24.680 --> 0:06:26.720 a follow? Like? Is that just to follow the entire 0:06:26.760 --> 0:06:29.680 game the same way we talked about Jalen Ramsey and 0:06:29.880 --> 0:06:34.039 Jamaar Chase on Tuesday? If that is so, do you 0:06:34.040 --> 0:06:35.880 guys expect and is this something you're gonna have to 0:06:35.880 --> 0:06:38.200 see early on? Does everybody follow? Is this just a 0:06:38.320 --> 0:06:40.719 that cat defense where you got that cat? You got 0:06:40.760 --> 0:06:43.880 that cat? Or can you maybe get an Odell Beckham 0:06:43.960 --> 0:06:47.560 matchup that you want? Or is this now Van Jefferson 0:06:47.640 --> 0:06:50.400 Eli Apple and that's the matchup? I have to try 0:06:50.520 --> 0:06:52.520 an attack? Like how how do you think the Rams 0:06:52.560 --> 0:06:55.279 will play it? And how do you think they'll you know, 0:06:55.400 --> 0:06:56.719 what kind of a matchup do you think they're gonna 0:06:56.720 --> 0:06:58.560 be looking for? Yeah, I don't think that we'll get 0:06:58.560 --> 0:07:01.159 a followed by the Bengals defense. I think what will 0:07:01.240 --> 0:07:03.559 we will see from the Bengals defenses where they dropped 0:07:03.600 --> 0:07:07.080 down their help from, you know, like sometimes they drop 0:07:07.080 --> 0:07:09.480 it down from the boundary the guy closest to the sidelines. 0:07:09.520 --> 0:07:11.840 Sometimes they drop it down from the field and the 0:07:11.880 --> 0:07:16.200 guys underneath are playing in kind of respective positioning of that, 0:07:16.320 --> 0:07:18.520 you know, And so I think that could I see 0:07:18.520 --> 0:07:22.480 them dropping down to Cooper cups side Because here's what 0:07:22.520 --> 0:07:26.200 O'Dell has done for this offense is and you saw 0:07:26.240 --> 0:07:28.040 it a little bit in the NFC title game. It's 0:07:28.080 --> 0:07:29.760 not only that I have a place to go to 0:07:30.000 --> 0:07:31.840 with the ball outside of Cooper. I have a person 0:07:31.840 --> 0:07:34.080 who can hurt you when I do it. And that's that. 0:07:34.240 --> 0:07:36.600 That's the challenge for Cincinnati is Okay, you want to 0:07:36.600 --> 0:07:38.560 play outside leverage on Cooper in the slot, and then 0:07:38.560 --> 0:07:40.600 you want to drop down from the boundary, and so 0:07:40.680 --> 0:07:45.200 you're kind of vising him cool. I will say this definitively, 0:07:45.520 --> 0:07:49.400 if they tried to solo up Odell with either Ousia 0:07:49.680 --> 0:07:52.480 or Eli Apple for the majority of that game, Odell 0:07:52.520 --> 0:07:54.440 was gonna win m v P. That's how I feel 0:07:54.560 --> 0:07:56.440 like that. I just don't think they can do it 0:07:56.560 --> 0:07:59.280 over the court. He's too he's creating too much separation 0:07:59.280 --> 0:08:01.040 and he's too explode as if with the football still. 0:08:01.120 --> 0:08:03.040 So that would be one of the things to look at, 0:08:03.120 --> 0:08:06.480 is is how Sean DeShawn doal up the right way 0:08:06.520 --> 0:08:08.720 for guys to be running away from the help at 0:08:08.720 --> 0:08:11.800 the right times. This would be my question. Then, Scott, 0:08:12.600 --> 0:08:16.600 play this from the Bill Belichick mindset, because Bill Belichick 0:08:16.680 --> 0:08:19.800 has always, i think, gone into games game plan specific 0:08:20.280 --> 0:08:22.920 and said, at the very least, I'm gonna make you 0:08:22.920 --> 0:08:25.320 play left handed. Robie. If you've got a Cooper Cup 0:08:25.560 --> 0:08:27.800 that has caught a million balls for a million yards 0:08:27.840 --> 0:08:30.360 and a million touchdowns this year, shame on us if 0:08:30.400 --> 0:08:32.679 he goes out and catches fourteen balls for a hundred 0:08:32.679 --> 0:08:34.959 and fifty yards and three touchdowns in this game, Like, 0:08:35.040 --> 0:08:38.000 we're not gonna let that happen. So how do you 0:08:38.840 --> 0:08:42.280 game plan specific give Hilton help if he needs it, 0:08:43.000 --> 0:08:46.920 vice Cooper Cup and not have those matchups that you 0:08:47.000 --> 0:08:49.720 don't want to have happened on the other side of 0:08:49.720 --> 0:08:52.280 the field, Like how do you make the Rams play 0:08:52.360 --> 0:08:54.719 left handed and not give Cooper Cup the numbers he's 0:08:54.760 --> 0:08:56.599 had that we've seen all season long and even in 0:08:56.640 --> 0:08:59.120 the playoffs, And yet at the same time accomplished the 0:08:59.120 --> 0:09:04.800 other goals. Yeah, and I still think the primary player 0:09:04.920 --> 0:09:08.040 you have to take away is Cooper Cup, and you 0:09:08.080 --> 0:09:11.840 have to so take away Cup. And you understand you 0:09:11.880 --> 0:09:14.000 can't take away everyone. And we're gonna try to deal 0:09:14.040 --> 0:09:17.240 with Odell Beckham however, and taking away Cooper Cup. That's 0:09:17.280 --> 0:09:19.720 what we're gonna do on the backside. On the front side, 0:09:20.280 --> 0:09:24.640 Matthew Stafford is too good when he's given time, he's 0:09:24.679 --> 0:09:28.440 too good. And then when given time, it becomes a problem. 0:09:28.480 --> 0:09:31.679 And what they need to do take away Cup and 0:09:31.800 --> 0:09:35.800 figure out a way with what's up front. Pressure Matthew 0:09:36.040 --> 0:09:39.840 into making a mistake. Although you know I've gotten to 0:09:39.880 --> 0:09:42.640 this point now, you know when we talked a couple 0:09:42.679 --> 0:09:44.760 of weeks ago, the last couple of weeks, and again 0:09:45.000 --> 0:09:46.920 I said this, Dan, I don't know Matthew like you, 0:09:46.960 --> 0:09:49.600 but I just see this this look in his eyes 0:09:49.640 --> 0:09:54.040 of peacefulness that he's just not going to make those 0:09:54.080 --> 0:09:57.440 mistakes that he has made at other times because he 0:09:57.559 --> 0:10:01.000 just knows it's like this bliss he's playing with house 0:10:01.040 --> 0:10:05.480 money and he doesn't tighten up anymore. Yeah. I think 0:10:05.480 --> 0:10:07.640 there's a couple of things to that, Scott. I think 0:10:07.720 --> 0:10:11.280 when we're talking about in relation to Cooper and shutting 0:10:11.280 --> 0:10:13.679 down Cooper, I think the challenge of that is he 0:10:13.760 --> 0:10:16.800 has such freedom in his routes, He has such the 0:10:16.840 --> 0:10:19.760 ability they give him those choice routes, and he's so 0:10:19.800 --> 0:10:23.000 smart and it's not sometimes he runs it off leverage 0:10:23.000 --> 0:10:25.000 and then sometimes he gets you, gets you in the 0:10:25.040 --> 0:10:27.000 leverage that he wants, you know. And so I think 0:10:27.040 --> 0:10:30.079 that's the challenge. In relation to Matthew, I would say this, 0:10:30.480 --> 0:10:33.240 I don't think that he loses this football game. Um, 0:10:33.280 --> 0:10:35.360 I know this isn't sports talk radio fire, and I 0:10:35.960 --> 0:10:37.920 just don't. I just don't think the guy has gone 0:10:37.960 --> 0:10:41.000 on the life journey that he has gone on and 0:10:41.080 --> 0:10:43.520 got to this moment and doesn't get it done. This 0:10:43.640 --> 0:10:46.000 is the same guy that in high school committed to 0:10:46.040 --> 0:10:48.120 Georgia because he didn't want to go on the recruiting 0:10:48.360 --> 0:10:50.800 visits anymore. You're so sick and tired of it. And 0:10:50.840 --> 0:10:52.720 then this is the same guy that has a sophomore 0:10:52.760 --> 0:10:54.559 at Georgia when they went on the road and lost 0:10:54.559 --> 0:10:56.920 to Tennessee. On the field after the game, his dad 0:10:56.920 --> 0:10:58.640 put his arm around him and said, don't worry, son, 0:10:58.679 --> 0:11:00.600 We'll get him next time, and his debt, looked up 0:11:00.600 --> 0:11:01.959 at his dad and said, Dad, there ain't gonna be 0:11:01.960 --> 0:11:04.560 the next time I'm gone, you know. And so it's 0:11:04.600 --> 0:11:06.640 the same guy that for twelve years in Detroit, you know, 0:11:06.760 --> 0:11:08.920 never got the credit. And I think that Um, to 0:11:09.000 --> 0:11:11.600 your point, Scott, one of the things that has always 0:11:11.640 --> 0:11:14.800 been undervalued about him because he's so physic physically talented, 0:11:14.920 --> 0:11:18.760 how intelligent he is, and he's a very very smart guy, 0:11:18.800 --> 0:11:21.840 and I think he's very aware of if he plays 0:11:21.920 --> 0:11:24.880 clean football, the talent is there and it will shine 0:11:24.920 --> 0:11:27.600 over the course of seventy plays and he'll be a 0:11:27.600 --> 0:11:30.119 Super Bowl champion and probably a Hall of Famer as 0:11:30.160 --> 0:11:33.240 it's all said and done. And one other point, you know, Dan, 0:11:33.360 --> 0:11:37.800 you mentioned Um Cooper cup being free, and to Bob's question, 0:11:38.600 --> 0:11:41.240 you know, if it's Bill Belichick, I think what's happening 0:11:42.160 --> 0:11:44.120 is that they beat the heck out of people, right, 0:11:44.160 --> 0:11:46.440 they get physical, because let's remember this too in the 0:11:46.480 --> 0:11:48.880 Super Bowl. In the Super Bowl with as we get 0:11:48.920 --> 0:11:51.880 to the championship games and the Super Bowl, there are 0:11:52.000 --> 0:11:55.360 fewer and fewer penalties called and pay attention to that. 0:11:55.960 --> 0:11:58.760 And you know, it was part of our mindsetting, our 0:11:58.840 --> 0:12:01.880 mentality when we started getting physical against the Colts in 0:12:01.960 --> 0:12:04.760 a f C Championship games and then physical against the 0:12:04.880 --> 0:12:08.400 Rams in Super Bowl thirty six. Part of it was 0:12:08.440 --> 0:12:12.120 with the knowledge of we could be physical and maybe 0:12:12.200 --> 0:12:15.079 get away with a little bit more on the releases. 0:12:15.200 --> 0:12:18.040 You know, it wasn't just at the corners on the receivers. 0:12:18.080 --> 0:12:19.920 It was knocking the heck out of Marshall Falk coming 0:12:19.960 --> 0:12:22.600 out of the backfield. So that may be one of 0:12:22.600 --> 0:12:25.360 the tactics to that. Lou Uses, I have one more 0:12:25.360 --> 0:12:28.439 big schematic question to ask these guys from an offensive 0:12:28.480 --> 0:12:31.240 standpoint for the Rams, defensive standpoint for the Bengals, and 0:12:31.240 --> 0:12:33.240 then some keys to the game. We're gonna do that 0:12:33.280 --> 0:12:36.400 and we continue our preview of the Super Bowl here 0:12:36.440 --> 0:12:43.000 on Tapeds. We are back on tapeds as we get 0:12:43.000 --> 0:12:45.080 your set for the Super Bowl, Bobo Shoes and Scott 0:12:45.080 --> 0:12:47.960 Pioli and dan Or Lobsky and guys. We kind of 0:12:47.960 --> 0:12:51.000 did this on Tuesday with the Bengals offense, Rams defense, 0:12:51.000 --> 0:12:53.760 flipping it around with the Rams offense and the Bengals 0:12:53.800 --> 0:12:56.240 defense today as we preview the Super Bowl. And we 0:12:56.360 --> 0:12:59.360 spent so much of the Tuesday show talking about Burrow, 0:12:59.440 --> 0:13:02.600 talking about Chase talking about coverage, is talking about weapons, 0:13:02.600 --> 0:13:05.319 and now to this point we've talked a lot about 0:13:05.320 --> 0:13:07.520 Matthew Stafford, how do you take Cooper Cup out of 0:13:07.520 --> 0:13:11.840 the game, odell Um coverages and pass rush. And we 0:13:11.920 --> 0:13:15.640 wrapped up Tuesday show asking the question Joe Mixon in 0:13:15.640 --> 0:13:18.600 the run game and how much of a factor that 0:13:18.679 --> 0:13:20.840 had to be for the Bengals for them to win 0:13:20.880 --> 0:13:23.319 this game. And I'll flip it back around and wonder 0:13:24.000 --> 0:13:26.880 of these two teams, if one Scott, as you alluded to, 0:13:27.200 --> 0:13:30.800 can get physical and can run the football like the 0:13:30.840 --> 0:13:34.000 Bengals don't have that two headed monster. It really seems 0:13:34.040 --> 0:13:37.280 to be mostly just Joe Mixon. But this is sony 0:13:37.320 --> 0:13:40.560 Michelle Camakers want to punch potentially that we're gonna see 0:13:40.559 --> 0:13:42.280 in this game. So if one of these two teams 0:13:42.600 --> 0:13:45.560 has to at some point just flat out get physical 0:13:45.720 --> 0:13:47.880 with their run game, am I right to think that 0:13:47.920 --> 0:13:49.640 the Rams of the team that's much more likely to 0:13:49.640 --> 0:13:51.319 be able to do that. And will they have to 0:13:51.360 --> 0:13:53.320 do that to win this game? I don't know if 0:13:53.360 --> 0:13:56.480 they'll have to do that to win the game, but 0:13:56.559 --> 0:14:00.240 if they need to, they will. But here's what I'll say, though, 0:14:00.800 --> 0:14:05.040 I think that their their toughness was challenged midway through 0:14:05.040 --> 0:14:09.520 the season. You know that they weren't physical enough up 0:14:09.559 --> 0:14:12.839 front on the offense. They weren't physical enough on defense. 0:14:12.960 --> 0:14:16.640 They were a finesse team, a scheme team people were 0:14:16.679 --> 0:14:19.760 talking about on the outside. We weren't here, but what 0:14:19.840 --> 0:14:22.640 I think we saw was I think that affected them. 0:14:22.680 --> 0:14:25.680 I think it affected Sean because it wasn't accurate. They 0:14:25.680 --> 0:14:29.120 were playing as tough as they needed to. But then 0:14:29.160 --> 0:14:32.080 it ramped up after that moment when the outside world 0:14:32.120 --> 0:14:34.960 was kind of calling into again, calling out their toughness, 0:14:35.240 --> 0:14:37.640 they got tough, they got physical. I'll tell you this. 0:14:37.960 --> 0:14:42.720 Austin Corbett, Bryan Allen, those are tough guys, right, and 0:14:43.400 --> 0:14:46.160 they can play tough. You know you mentioned Cam Akers, 0:14:46.200 --> 0:14:48.720 He runs tough, Sony Michelle. He knows how to run tough. 0:14:49.000 --> 0:14:52.600 They are a tough football team. And I think sometimes 0:14:52.640 --> 0:14:55.560 because of because they have so much skill. I mean, 0:14:55.600 --> 0:14:57.800 look at their you know, flip it around and look 0:14:57.800 --> 0:14:59.800 at the other side of the ball. You know that's 0:14:59.800 --> 0:15:02.840 a tough group over there. I mean Aaron Donalds is 0:15:03.440 --> 0:15:07.720 real tough, Greg Gaines von Miller. So I I think 0:15:08.200 --> 0:15:12.080 that they were Sometimes when you're so skilled, you get 0:15:12.160 --> 0:15:15.000 labeled something unfairly, and I think that was happening to 0:15:15.040 --> 0:15:17.840 the Rams. Yeah, you know, that's why in the middle 0:15:17.880 --> 0:15:20.920 of this season, you know, the because I don't think 0:15:20.960 --> 0:15:24.520 Scott they were given the opportunity to be physical, you know, 0:15:24.560 --> 0:15:27.680 because they played such empty drop back football and kind 0:15:27.680 --> 0:15:29.080 of challenged Sean. It was a little bit like the 0:15:29.120 --> 0:15:31.440 Bucks were last year. You know, the Bucks midway through 0:15:31.440 --> 0:15:33.120 the season's like he you guys aren't doing stuff to 0:15:33.120 --> 0:15:36.320 help the football team. It's just quarterback centric. And I 0:15:36.320 --> 0:15:38.200 think that's what the Rams made the switch. I can 0:15:38.240 --> 0:15:41.320 say this, if the Rams are unable to run the 0:15:41.360 --> 0:15:44.160 football well, they can still win this football game. And 0:15:44.160 --> 0:15:48.120 I feel comfortable saying comfortably. I think their offensive line 0:15:48.400 --> 0:15:51.600 has protected so much better here because Sean will run 0:15:51.600 --> 0:15:53.720 it a little bit um, but I think that they've 0:15:53.720 --> 0:15:56.960 gotten so much better within their protection. I also think 0:15:56.960 --> 0:16:00.640 that the way that they're got quick passing game, the 0:16:00.720 --> 0:16:04.800 underneath passing game, and how convicted they've been and executing 0:16:04.840 --> 0:16:07.280 it at a high level is something that is a 0:16:07.280 --> 0:16:08.920 big part of the offense. And also they're as good 0:16:08.920 --> 0:16:11.520 a perimeter screen as their perimeter screen team as we 0:16:11.560 --> 0:16:14.200 have in football, and so I don't think that this 0:16:14.320 --> 0:16:16.760 needs to be a heavy dose of Sony Michelle and 0:16:17.000 --> 0:16:19.240 cam Akers game. And when it comes to the run game, 0:16:19.640 --> 0:16:21.680 I think they'll be part of it. But I've said 0:16:21.720 --> 0:16:23.720 this before on the on the pod, you know every 0:16:23.800 --> 0:16:25.960 offensive you know, coach should go into every game with 0:16:25.960 --> 0:16:28.000 the number one question, can we block them? And I 0:16:28.000 --> 0:16:30.800 think they can. You know, Hubbard and Hendrickson are great, 0:16:30.840 --> 0:16:33.160 and I think that they you'll you'll have to go 0:16:33.240 --> 0:16:35.440 help those cats a little bit on the edges, but 0:16:35.480 --> 0:16:37.520 I think they can block them pretty good on the perimeter, 0:16:37.600 --> 0:16:39.640 specifically if they do some of their chips and whatnot 0:16:39.680 --> 0:16:42.240 and there on their edges. And I just think, all right, 0:16:42.280 --> 0:16:43.840 if you guys are gonna line up and play your 0:16:43.840 --> 0:16:46.880 man coverage as much as you want to. The difference 0:16:47.000 --> 0:16:49.960 that between Patrick Mahomes two weeks ago. In the end, 0:16:49.960 --> 0:16:52.720 it's a f C title game and Matthew is Matthew 0:16:52.920 --> 0:16:57.840 will play boring football. The reason I know is because 0:16:58.120 --> 0:17:01.600 I watched him do it. That This is where you 0:17:01.640 --> 0:17:05.560 know a plethora of reps in your career comes. Vic Fangio, 0:17:06.240 --> 0:17:08.959 one of the best defensive minds in football, used to 0:17:09.040 --> 0:17:12.400 constantly he was in Chicago for a long time, constantly 0:17:12.520 --> 0:17:15.520 three man rush Matthew, constantly three man rush Matthew. And 0:17:15.520 --> 0:17:17.280 I remember one of the first times we played him, 0:17:17.520 --> 0:17:19.640 Matthew didn't play well and we watched the table and 0:17:20.000 --> 0:17:22.760 there's completions underneath. Dude, you just and he would be like, well, 0:17:22.760 --> 0:17:24.760 I don't want to take him. I don't I don't care. 0:17:25.400 --> 0:17:27.800 You know, like, that's what the defense is telling you 0:17:27.840 --> 0:17:29.919 to do. And I think Matthew has learned over the 0:17:30.000 --> 0:17:32.879 years because of that experience with Vic Fangio. It's not 0:17:32.960 --> 0:17:35.919 what you want to do. There's a difference between taking 0:17:35.920 --> 0:17:38.320 what the defense gives you and taking what you want. 0:17:38.520 --> 0:17:42.240 And he's got enough empirical data repetition that he can 0:17:42.280 --> 0:17:44.040 go back in time and say, Okay, if you guys 0:17:44.040 --> 0:17:47.320 are gonna do that defensively, then I'm going to take 0:17:47.359 --> 0:17:50.320 some of those, if not all of those underneath completions, 0:17:50.720 --> 0:17:52.919 because then that's gonna help her offense and where we 0:17:53.000 --> 0:17:55.440 don't have to get into this. Okay, third and eight 0:17:55.480 --> 0:17:58.520 plus every play, you know, and Dan, this is part 0:17:58.520 --> 0:18:00.800 of what I refer to as the peacefulness that you 0:18:00.880 --> 0:18:03.560 see with him as a player. And to me, what 0:18:03.760 --> 0:18:07.320 is boring football checkdowns to pick up four or five yards, 0:18:07.359 --> 0:18:09.919 or that's not boring to me. And again, I was 0:18:09.960 --> 0:18:15.000 around these teams that coached and encouraged the checkdown. Again, 0:18:15.040 --> 0:18:17.600 it goes way back to Ron hair Earhart and Bill 0:18:17.680 --> 0:18:21.600 Parcels having Phil Sims build his confidence and build the 0:18:21.600 --> 0:18:24.840 team's confidence. It was then we had any Testaverdy doing it, 0:18:24.920 --> 0:18:27.280 you know at the Jets, and Brady made a career 0:18:27.280 --> 0:18:30.000 out of it. You know, you look at Brady's game. 0:18:30.119 --> 0:18:34.680 Isn't sexy, right, it's it's checkdowns, it's all of this stuff. 0:18:34.840 --> 0:18:37.560 For years we heard him being called, well he can't Yeah, 0:18:37.600 --> 0:18:40.120 but he can't throw the deep ball. What does that mean? 0:18:40.520 --> 0:18:43.480 Who cares? He's winning games? Again, here's a guy who 0:18:43.480 --> 0:18:47.320 won seven Super Bowls and has only been m v 0:18:47.400 --> 0:18:52.960 P three times because his game isn't big, it's not flashy, 0:18:53.040 --> 0:18:56.240 it's just winning. And Matthew has his piece now, Dan, 0:18:56.640 --> 0:18:59.520 and again or he appears I can't speak as if 0:18:59.560 --> 0:19:01.880 I know, but he appears out his piece to do 0:19:01.920 --> 0:19:04.480 the exact thing that you just talked about, Dan, when 0:19:04.520 --> 0:19:06.240 Randy Moss showed up all of a sudden, Tom Brady 0:19:06.240 --> 0:19:08.560 could throw the deep had a human to do it. Yeah, 0:19:08.880 --> 0:19:10.920 like I called a couple of those. But all right, Dan, 0:19:11.000 --> 0:19:13.040 every time this we're gonna wrap it up this way. 0:19:13.240 --> 0:19:15.200 Every time you and I do a college football game, 0:19:15.320 --> 0:19:17.800 we talked to the offensive defensive coordinator's head coach. You 0:19:17.840 --> 0:19:19.959 always wrap up our production meetia with each of those 0:19:20.040 --> 0:19:22.480 guys with I think a really good way to wrap 0:19:22.560 --> 0:19:24.879 up this podcast, and that is like we're not in 0:19:24.920 --> 0:19:27.960 the sports radio predict a score. We don't do that. 0:19:28.400 --> 0:19:33.119 What you always ask those guys is, all right, Sunday morning, 0:19:33.560 --> 0:19:35.639 you go back and look at the tape of this game, 0:19:36.320 --> 0:19:39.439 give me one or two things that have to happen 0:19:39.600 --> 0:19:42.960 for you as to why you win the game. So 0:19:43.080 --> 0:19:45.320 both of you guys do that dance start. What are 0:19:45.520 --> 0:19:49.520 one or two things that have to happen for each 0:19:49.560 --> 0:19:51.159