Speaker 1: Be Around with the NFL Podcast Early season m v
Speaker 1: P favorite, but that makes no sense. Welcome to another
Speaker 1: edition of the Around the NFL Podcast. My name is
Speaker 1: Dan Hansas. I come to you from the virtual room
Speaker 1: built as some heroes. Mark Sessler, Greg Rosendal. What's up boys,
Speaker 1: Ricky Hollywood. I know we're not to the offseason, yet
Speaker 1: we're edging there. That that doesn't check out them? Come
Speaker 1: on in Erica. This is what listeners try to do
Speaker 1: when they think they're funny and clever and picking up.
Speaker 1: You're the one that's choosing the thing for the listeners
Speaker 1: under the bus, I mean they wright. I do you
Speaker 1: think I would write that? Mine would clearly all about me.
Speaker 1: You have you can choose by it, but that's fine.
Speaker 1: I mean I think that it's fair to say that
Speaker 1: maybe some of us are in off seas, are heading
Speaker 1: towards off season mode, and um, that's that's okay. People.
Speaker 1: I think there's two people on the show right now.
Speaker 1: Based on the tone of comment, I would claim one
Speaker 1: and it wouldn't necessarily be myself, But um, you know
Speaker 1: there's no more to say because I'll just suffer for
Speaker 1: even having voice this. Did you want to walk it
Speaker 1: back now at all. Before I didn't claim who I
Speaker 1: was putting in that um in that world, so you
Speaker 1: can't know one should be offended. You should think it's
Speaker 1: the other two people I'm talking about. Yes, if you
Speaker 1: do want to send in money tags, please do it
Speaker 1: over send it Erica tam Posey over on Twitter and
Speaker 1: you could be a part of the show. Yes. This
Speaker 1: is the Championships Sunday preview edition of the Around the
Speaker 1: NFL podcast. It's a good one, boys, Oh, it's a
Speaker 1: good one because we have guests galore to talk the
Speaker 1: NFC title game between the Packers and Bucks. Will have
Speaker 1: Colleen Wolf, old friend of the show who's hasn't been
Speaker 1: on in a minute, as they say, so, she's rejoining us.
Speaker 1: Can't wait for that. And for the first time Bill
Speaker 1: Barnwell from ESPN dot com he does great work over
Speaker 1: uh in the NFL coverage for that particular website, He
Speaker 1: will join us to talk to a f C title
Speaker 1: game between the Chiefs and the Bills. We also have
Speaker 1: some news to get through. We'll kind of stick that
Speaker 1: right in the middle halftime style. Uh. This feels like
Speaker 1: greg show not to be missed. If you are a
Speaker 1: football joke. It's a cracker. You know. Sometimes you get
Speaker 1: to these championship weekends, some teams they don't really feel
Speaker 1: like they belong. Like last year's Packers team. Okay, it's
Speaker 1: like you trying to convince yourself, Saron Rodgers. It's like
Speaker 1: even the Titans last year. These four teams, I'm saying,
Speaker 1: like I can see any one of them winning the
Speaker 1: Super Bowl and some good box office stuff. That's a
Speaker 1: good call, Like Raheem Mostert isn't gonna go off for
Speaker 1: two thirties, seven and four on some overmatched want to
Speaker 1: be contender. I'm I'm with you. This is gonna be
Speaker 1: great football. Uh, let's get into it. Yes, and let's
Speaker 1: start with the a f C title game. I mean,
Speaker 1: this is fun. It's a championship weekend. And because it's
Speaker 1: a championship weekend, and because Tom Brady is playing against
Speaker 1: Patrick Mahomes, we had to get, you know, an extra
Speaker 1: special guest to join us. I believe him to be
Speaker 1: and I know I'm not alone on this podcast. One
Speaker 1: of the great football writers out there, and he writes
Speaker 1: for ESPN, and his name is Bill Barnwell, and now
Speaker 1: he is joining us for the first time. On the
Speaker 1: A t N podcast to breakdown the a f C
Speaker 1: title game. Bill, Welcome to the show. This is very spooky.
Speaker 1: I it feels strange that it hasn't happened before. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's overdue. It's overdue. I've done Bill a long time since,
Speaker 1: Like he was at Football Outsiders and they would do
Speaker 1: like events speaking at bars in New York City. And
Speaker 1: in around two thousand and eight, when which is about
Speaker 1: the time, he really wore that I'm a Giants fan
Speaker 1: thing loudly. It's funny. It's funny to me because Bill
Speaker 1: and Greg in some ways like to do a similar
Speaker 1: job for NFL Media and ESPN. So it's almost like
Speaker 1: two titans of the genre mark on the same show
Speaker 1: right now, and here we are just standing on the
Speaker 1: shoulders of Giants. Yeah, I mean, I you know, I'm
Speaker 1: just so long for the ride. I couldn't be more pleased.
Speaker 1: I shared with him one with you guys, the one
Speaker 1: time that I met Bill for four or five seconds,
Speaker 1: and that was a meeting that wet sideways. We won't
Speaker 1: we won't get into that on this show. But I'm
Speaker 1: I'm thrilled at ease here. You know, we just went
Speaker 1: through a whole wind up before we started taping, Mark
Speaker 1: about how that individual who you know, we will remain nameless.
Speaker 1: We can never let that tape get out. And now
Speaker 1: you're actually referencing on the show, and now I'm talking
Speaker 1: about you. You've actually you've actually taken it about fifteen
Speaker 1: yards further than I did. So thanks again. All right,
Speaker 1: let's get on track. Here we got Bill here, the
Speaker 1: great Barnwell. Are you Bill? You're one of those guys
Speaker 1: that people call you by Barnwell mostly or Bill. That's
Speaker 1: a good question. I would say, like college era Barnwell
Speaker 1: most commonly. I would say, Now, I feel like I
Speaker 1: get more bills than Barnwell, And if I like flip
Speaker 1: my hat backwards, maybe I get more barne Well. You
Speaker 1: ever get like a like a Hey Barney, you know
Speaker 1: that would that would be someone where I would try
Speaker 1: to walk away from them. I feel like any any
Speaker 1: sort of shortening that ends in why unless you're a
Speaker 1: hockey player, is not fair. Um, let's start this way, Bill,
Speaker 1: Because the Chiefs survived by the skin of their teeth
Speaker 1: against the Browns, and you know they do that with
Speaker 1: the help of Chad Henny. In a very huge hanger
Speaker 1: of a call there by Andy Reid uh and hopefully
Speaker 1: they get my homes back now. Now on the other side,
Speaker 1: with the Bills, they have been out gained in each
Speaker 1: of their playoff games. There's defense obviously stepped up in
Speaker 1: a big spot against the Ravens uh and carried the day.
Speaker 1: There are you how concerned are you about the fact
Speaker 1: that the Bill's offense is no longer running teams out
Speaker 1: of the building like they were in December? And how
Speaker 1: much do you think, uh, do they need to return
Speaker 1: to that form to have a chance this weekend? I
Speaker 1: it's complicated. I think there's a couple of things and
Speaker 1: play here. I thought they were pretty good against the Colts, right,
Speaker 1: I mean, the Cults were good defense, maybe not top five,
Speaker 1: but they were very good against the Coals, especially after
Speaker 1: halftime once they stopped getting stuck with ninety yards to
Speaker 1: go for touchdowns. Um, the Ravens were very tough defense
Speaker 1: and not they did a really good job against Josh
Speaker 1: Allen and the Bills. But I think I think something
Speaker 1: has to change because this formula that they've won these
Speaker 1: first two games with is not sustainable. They have been
Speaker 1: incredible in the red zone for a defense that was
Speaker 1: I think the fifth worst defense and football in the
Speaker 1: red zone during the regular season, which just a sticky
Speaker 1: stat but there's no reason why they suddenly should turn
Speaker 1: into you know, the two thousand Ravens in the red
Speaker 1: zone where they've given up i think two touchdowns now
Speaker 1: in eight possessions. I believe it was, you know, a
Speaker 1: missed field goal, it was two stops on downs, that
Speaker 1: fourth down against the Colts, and then of course a
Speaker 1: fourth down laid against the Ravens the pick six. I mean,
Speaker 1: you can't count on that happening. And we saw last
Speaker 1: year with Tennessee, which was a team that was great
Speaker 1: on offense in the red zone, and then in their
Speaker 1: upside victories against the Ravens and against the Patriots were
Speaker 1: two of seven um in the red zone in terms
Speaker 1: of allowing touchdowns. You faced the Chiefs. That's a different,
Speaker 1: different level of team in the red zone. So, uh,
Speaker 1: Tennessee was not able to be as effective in the
Speaker 1: red zone, and we saw that formula kind of fell apart.
Speaker 1: So for the Bills, I think either they have to
Speaker 1: get stiffer in the on defense, you know, outside of
Speaker 1: the red zone, or how that offense come back. That
Speaker 1: was you know, dominant over the second half of the season,
Speaker 1: because I think they can't count on holding the Chiefs
Speaker 1: to scoring touchdowns of the time in the red zone.
Speaker 1: Come Sunday. I'm really curious how the Chiefs will play
Speaker 1: them because, you know, the Ravens were interesting. There's such
Speaker 1: a heavy blitz team. They didn't really blitz Alan there.
Speaker 1: There are four guys that were up front. We're not
Speaker 1: getting anywhere close to the Bill's offensive line has been
Speaker 1: a great um story for them. They've really improved and
Speaker 1: now one of the best groups, I think in the league.
Speaker 1: And and it kind of worked. You know, you you held,
Speaker 1: you made Josh Allen hold the ball a little bit more.
Speaker 1: And it's the opposite of the Chiefs did the first
Speaker 1: time around, and kind of how they're generally programmed. They
Speaker 1: got a lot of heat on Josh Allen the first time.
Speaker 1: I did go back to watch it and and it
Speaker 1: was dangerous and I think it's gonna be dangerous to
Speaker 1: do it again because unlike the Ravens, they don't have
Speaker 1: great players in the back end, and they sent a
Speaker 1: lot of pressure at Josh Allen. Sometimes it works, sometimes
Speaker 1: it didn't. But man, guys were open deep down the field.
Speaker 1: Watch rewatching that game, it was a lot closer than
Speaker 1: I remembered. I sort of thought of it as this
Speaker 1: steamrolling by the Chiefs, but man, there were a lot
Speaker 1: of opportunities for Alan to make plays. And I guess
Speaker 1: I would be afraid if I'm the Chiefs of basically
Speaker 1: every matchup on the field. Like Stefan Diggs to me,
Speaker 1: is I think the best receivering league. I'd take me
Speaker 1: even over Adams. If Beasley is beasily, then you have
Speaker 1: you know, Dawson Knox is like like everything is a mismatch,
Speaker 1: and I could see them hitting a lot of big
Speaker 1: plays if they go that balls out this week from
Speaker 1: from one film guy to another, I appreciate that because
Speaker 1: I also went based and watched the Bills Chiefs Game's
Speaker 1: gonna make fun of you for that film reference there here.
Speaker 1: I don't know. I went back and watched it and
Speaker 1: Josh Allen miss him throws, Like there were plays to
Speaker 1: be made on the offense in that game, and there
Speaker 1: were throwst Maybe you know the Chiefs were able to
Speaker 1: make a great play and not could pass away deep
Speaker 1: or you know Josh Allen missr receiver by a step
Speaker 1: because it was under some pressure. I don't know what
Speaker 1: you guys think, but looking at how the Chiefs played
Speaker 1: the Bills in that game, I'm sorry how the Bills
Speaker 1: play the Chiefs in that game. On offense, they played
Speaker 1: too high, they took away to day plays. They said, hey,
Speaker 1: if you want to run the ball for five yards
Speaker 1: and carry, great, go nuts. We'll happily have you do that.
Speaker 1: And the Chiefs pretty much did that all game. I
Speaker 1: wonder if from the chief side of things, if they
Speaker 1: sort of say the same thing here and say, hey,
Speaker 1: we're gonna play too deep. We're not gonna bitz a lot.
Speaker 1: We're gonna kind of do what the Ravens did and
Speaker 1: let you run the ball or let you try, let
Speaker 1: you you know, hit those short passes at least theoretically
Speaker 1: give you the run. Although the Bills obviously did not
Speaker 1: want to run him that game, but give them the
Speaker 1: opportunity to run the ball and say, hey, we'll get
Speaker 1: in a running game sort of, you know, like slot
Speaker 1: like that, just you know, really slow paced game if
Speaker 1: that's what you want, because we think we're going to
Speaker 1: be more efficient than you when it comes to scoring
Speaker 1: in the Red South. I mean, I also look at
Speaker 1: the way the Bills handled or attempted to handle Patrick
Speaker 1: Mahomes in that game. They didn't blitz him once and
Speaker 1: that was the center according to next Gen stats, like
Speaker 1: the first time that's happened in a game since and
Speaker 1: that you know, that helped them get to two forty
Speaker 1: five yards on the ground Kansas City. I mean, if
Speaker 1: you're Buffalo, because the d obviously you know, I I
Speaker 1: loved Everyone's like that game just doesn't matter at all.
Speaker 1: We throw it out entirely. Well, there are like there
Speaker 1: is some shared DNA obviously with what happened back then,
Speaker 1: and like, if you're Buffalo, you kind of showed what
Speaker 1: you wanted to do the first time. It didn't really
Speaker 1: work the way that way they wanted it to. How
Speaker 1: do you come in and like do you especially with
Speaker 1: Patrick Mahomes, I get the head thing is probably fine,
Speaker 1: but the toe injury I thought last week really affected him.
Speaker 1: And those don't necessarily just go away in four or
Speaker 1: five days. If you're Buffalo, do you take a few
Speaker 1: chances and just say we might pay the price, but
Speaker 1: we have got to try to make Patrick Mahomes um
Speaker 1: on that toe uncomfortably that it affected his throws last
Speaker 1: week for sure. Yeah, you gotta see because his legs.
Speaker 1: I think it's so underrated. What a big part of
Speaker 1: their offense it is, especially in the playoffs, buying time
Speaker 1: and picking up like five yards or picking up key
Speaker 1: first downs. Like he reminds me so much of Andrew Luck.
Speaker 1: He's not as good a runner, but just when he runs,
Speaker 1: it's like always devastating. And if you take that away
Speaker 1: from them, then the then the Chief's offenses like goes
Speaker 1: from totally unstoppable to like, you know, slightly less than
Speaker 1: totally unstand mostly unstoppable. And they were aggressive last year
Speaker 1: in the postseason about using Mahomes as a runner in
Speaker 1: the red zone. Mean, they ran speed options last year
Speaker 1: in the red zone, they ran homes they did last week.
Speaker 1: I mean that's that's the reasoning that hurt. That's what
Speaker 1: didn't hurt exactly. They did it last week and Mahomes
Speaker 1: got hurt. So you got a figure. I mean, Andy
Speaker 1: Reid has guts. I don't know if he has the
Speaker 1: same guts to call another speed option with Patrick Mahomes
Speaker 1: after what happened last weep. Yeah, I hope that do. Um.
Speaker 1: That may impact their efficiency in the right zone as well.
Speaker 1: Much has been made of it, but I think when
Speaker 1: you actually look at the chief schedule this season, it
Speaker 1: is fairly remarkable that you know, they've won uh, basically
Speaker 1: every week since Week five, with the exception of a
Speaker 1: week seventeen lost it didn't matter, and those wins but
Speaker 1: are by um since the bye two four three, six,
Speaker 1: six three three the loss, and then they beat Cleveland
Speaker 1: by five. Obviously you kind of throw out the game
Speaker 1: against Cleveland at some level because Mahomes gets hurt, But
Speaker 1: even then, I think that game has had a good
Speaker 1: chance of ending up close either way. UM, how much
Speaker 1: do you put into that that the offense isn't quite
Speaker 1: as explosive, They're not running people out of the buildings
Speaker 1: themselves like they were at their peak a season ago.
Speaker 1: I think it's meaningful. I mean I think that I'm
Speaker 1: you know, I always left quoting recording close games as
Speaker 1: being a sign that a team is garbage and not
Speaker 1: actually good. I don't know if I tell that about
Speaker 1: the Chiefs, but I do think that they are not
Speaker 1: as good as their record seems to indicate. And I
Speaker 1: think that, you know, last year, the reason they were
Speaker 1: able to turn things onto the playoffs. Reason they were
Speaker 1: able to just you know, absolutely just make those phenomenal
Speaker 1: comebacks and just blow away teams when they got hot
Speaker 1: is that they were incredible in the red zone. They
Speaker 1: were like thirteen or fourteen scoring touchdowns in the red zone,
Speaker 1: and you know, you kind of like, okay, well, maybe
Speaker 1: they'll turn it back on again in the playoffs, because
Speaker 1: they weren't that team again during the regular season, and
Speaker 1: they weren't against the Browns. They kick field goals against
Speaker 1: the Browns, they did stall out against the Browns, and
Speaker 1: of course Harrison Butcker didn't miss the field goal. It
Speaker 1: shouldn't help matters. But it wasn't like they were, you know,
Speaker 1: they were moving the ball, but it wasn't like they
Speaker 1: were dominating inside the twenty. And so I think that's
Speaker 1: why so much of this game to me comes down
Speaker 1: to what happens in the red zone, because I think,
Speaker 1: you know, I don't think this offense is cooking at
Speaker 1: the level where I think they can hit four or
Speaker 1: five players, especially against the Bills team that not really
Speaker 1: this year, but more so in years past, was very
Speaker 1: good about avoiding those big plays and really focusing on
Speaker 1: and taking away those big plays. From posing offenses. So
Speaker 1: you know, maybe I'll be wrong. Obviously they have the
Speaker 1: upside to do it, but we just haven't seen that
Speaker 1: offense where it's been Patrick Mahomes just hitting bomb after
Speaker 1: bomb after bomb. This has been an offense that's really
Speaker 1: been about protecting the football, not making mistakes and just
Speaker 1: wearing teams down with completion after completion, uh and the
Speaker 1: third down conversion after third down conversion. But like, here's
Speaker 1: the thing that I'm I'm struggling to make sense of
Speaker 1: because I feel like it's still more or less the
Speaker 1: same cast. You still have the same play caller. Patrick
Speaker 1: Mahomes is still there. You still love Tyreek Kill, you
Speaker 1: have Travis Kelsey. What is different? Maybe it's upfront. Maybe
Speaker 1: I know they had Clyde Edward Hilara that we on
Speaker 1: balance think maybe the offense better, But now he's out
Speaker 1: of the picture. Anyway, potentially, Like why aren't they that
Speaker 1: way because I don't see a huge difference personnel was
Speaker 1: They're not the same though. I think that's been underrated.
Speaker 1: Like a, they lost their best offensive lineman, Mitchell sports
Speaker 1: he's not coming back, and then last week, imagine if
Speaker 1: any other team in the playoffs went into the the
Speaker 1: playoffs without their number two wide receiver, who, by the way,
Speaker 1: has like the best playoff UM track record of any
Speaker 1: receiver of the last five years, Sammy Watkins, and without
Speaker 1: their number one draft pick, who's also they're starting running
Speaker 1: back and gives them a lot extra juice. People would say, oh,
Speaker 1: that teems like a little banged up, but the Chiefs,
Speaker 1: it feels like it doesn't really matter. It's the Chiefs,
Speaker 1: And I get that they're like three and four on
Speaker 1: the pecking order and they're way less important than than
Speaker 1: Kelsey who's just like on another level right now, and
Speaker 1: and Tyreek Hill. But those two guys really matter, and
Speaker 1: those two guys might be playing this week. They are practicing.
Speaker 1: It sounds like Edwards Hilaire Um might play. If I'm
Speaker 1: a Chiefs fans, I love that Darryl Williams had a
Speaker 1: nice game last week because they're running game has been
Speaker 1: so bad, and I really do think that will help
Speaker 1: them out to be balanced, um if they're not balanced.
Speaker 1: But I just mean when they handed off to get
Speaker 1: six or seven yards and Edwards, Hilayer, Retorney and Watkins returning,
Speaker 1: like I think that would make a big deal okay,
Speaker 1: obligated by our friend Evan Silva to call Darryl Williams
Speaker 1: the mentor um side. I do think the offensive line
Speaker 1: is a legitimate concern. Losing Mitchell Schwartz is a huge problem.
Speaker 1: I mean, it didn't affect them as much against the
Speaker 1: Browns that would have expected, because they did really do
Speaker 1: a They really put a lot of pressure on Miles
Speaker 1: Garrett in the first half with reading him and you know,
Speaker 1: running those jetsuits past him and slow him down, and
Speaker 1: then he got hurt and wasn't the same player in
Speaker 1: the second half of the game. Wasn't available either for
Speaker 1: chunks of the second half of that game. And they're
Speaker 1: not very good in the interior. Their guards aren't all
Speaker 1: that effective. Eric Fisher is okay at left tackle. I mean,
Speaker 1: this is a team where you can beat them up front,
Speaker 1: and we know that, you know, Patrick Mahomes is gonna
Speaker 1: make plays against pressure, but you still rather have him
Speaker 1: with you know, a clean pocket. You're still rather half
Speaker 1: him be able to you know, drop back and make
Speaker 1: plash that having to run the ball for ten eleven
Speaker 1: seconds to try and find receivers. So I do think
Speaker 1: that the rest of the team around that core is
Speaker 1: not the same as it was a year ago. I mean,
Speaker 1: I think it's big to have Matt Milano back in
Speaker 1: the Travis Kelsey conversation. He wasn't there the first time. UM.
Speaker 1: I still look at this off and cinec. You know,
Speaker 1: the Browns are completely different defense. But it's like maybe
Speaker 1: you bottle up Tyreek killed for a bit, but then
Speaker 1: Travis Kelsey goes nuts. The Bills have to have an
Speaker 1: answer for that. UM. I just want to see also
Speaker 1: because one of my favorite things that happened last weekend
Speaker 1: was the Bills. It was like one of these box
Speaker 1: score phenomenons that just delighted me. It's you got three
Speaker 1: minutes to go in the first half and there has
Speaker 1: been one run by the Bills and it's been Josh Allen,
Speaker 1: and it's like, I kind of think it's like what
Speaker 1: you do if if you They were just being real
Speaker 1: and like, I wasn't a game where I thought that
Speaker 1: um Alan and Dable were in sync um early on
Speaker 1: and the way that we've seen to some degree, but
Speaker 1: they just kind of went for it and said, fr
Speaker 1: running game. We're just gonna throw the ball left and right. UM.
Speaker 1: I don't know if they really are a team that
Speaker 1: could get back to balance. Devin Singletary can do some
Speaker 1: things today, isn't that with them? It was more extreme
Speaker 1: obviously this past week because it was just ridiculous that
Speaker 1: they didn't have any running plays. But when they were
Speaker 1: scoring forty points every week, when they were coming down
Speaker 1: the stretch like a fireball, they weren't running the ball
Speaker 1: out then either because they didn't have to because Alan
Speaker 1: was out of his mind, and they can plays with
Speaker 1: his legs as well. So I have seen that pop
Speaker 1: up in place. I know you're not saying that, Mark,
Speaker 1: but that, oh the Bills. Maybe they need to get
Speaker 1: some balance to get their offense cook. And again I'm actually,
Speaker 1: I actually don't think they should go balance because Chiefs
Speaker 1: have been one of the better teams to shut down
Speaker 1: explosive run plays. But they are about like in the
Speaker 1: NFL against explosive past place. So if you're Buffalo, go
Speaker 1: with who you are at this point. I don't know
Speaker 1: why you try to change. I wonder if like Dable though,
Speaker 1: kind of takes what they give him, you know, and
Speaker 1: and Alan, if there's a difference here, maybe to me,
Speaker 1: the sea the story of Mahomes this season. Is is
Speaker 1: that sort of like next level of maturation and patience
Speaker 1: of like he'll just take the seven yard gain when
Speaker 1: it's there. There was a lot of that against Cleveland. Uh,
Speaker 1: certainly there was a lot. It kind of started in
Speaker 1: Week one, you know that that Texans game and then
Speaker 1: the Bills game. Like, to me, that's sort of that's
Speaker 1: part of the story of the Chiefs this year. I
Speaker 1: don't know if Alan and the Bills are there yet.
Speaker 1: I kind of don't think either defense is gonna get
Speaker 1: many stops um, But to me, that is like the
Speaker 1: slight difference is maybe Read and my homes are a
Speaker 1: little more patient that they'll take what's given. And I
Speaker 1: almost forgot that we need to do this on this show.
Speaker 1: But that is why I'm gonna lock up the old Chiefs,
Speaker 1: And I know Bark's got to just go against me
Speaker 1: because that's just that's just what he's gonna as competition.
Speaker 1: That's where we're at now. It's getting height. So I'm
Speaker 1: one up on I'm Mark. The other guys are all
Speaker 1: out of it. I'm one up on Mark entering last
Speaker 1: two weeks. But at some point he's got to make
Speaker 1: a move and go against me. Here. I will lock
Speaker 1: up the Bills because there's only for weeks to do this.
Speaker 1: But I had a thought of maybe locking up Um
Speaker 1: a different team that I thought was a cinch this week,
Speaker 1: and then hoping that Greg falls off. I lets just
Speaker 1: do the old lock off one. Okay, I mean you
Speaker 1: can't do that, Hey, Bill Um, not Barney, not Barnewell. Bill,
Speaker 1: is it too late for me to throw out the
Speaker 1: old I know an X factor for the Bills on
Speaker 1: Smoke Brown. Are we giving up on him ever making
Speaker 1: a big impact because this could, hypothetically is a game
Speaker 1: where he can be a difference maker if we believe
Speaker 1: that you can get right physically. We have a chief
Speaker 1: team here that we know are aggressive in the secondary.
Speaker 1: We know that whether it's tarn Matthew, whether it's their corners,
Speaker 1: they're going to go for plays there there. They are
Speaker 1: susceptible at times to double moves. Now, they have the
Speaker 1: athletic ability to catch up and make plays. But if
Speaker 1: you have a guy who is an incredible deep passer
Speaker 1: and Josh Allen and you have a you know, a
Speaker 1: guy and John Brown who can get open, wouldn't be crazy.
Speaker 1: I mean it plays last week John Brown he was there,
Speaker 1: he was active, he was making plays, he looked healthy.
Speaker 1: I mean, I wouldn't rule that out in the slightest.
Speaker 1: We've seen Sammy Watkins last year where he was a
Speaker 1: non factor for most of the season after Week one,
Speaker 1: and then suddenly in the postseason. Who has the big
Speaker 1: play to seal up the a f C championship game.
Speaker 1: That's Sammy Watkins. Who has the play the Durell Reevos
Speaker 1: fantasy play where he stacks Richard Sherman and goes for
Speaker 1: a forty yard game. It's Sammy Watkins. So I don't
Speaker 1: think you can rule anything out with John Brown based
Speaker 1: and how he played this season. I think that we've
Speaker 1: we've watched like twenty plus of these two these championship games,
Speaker 1: thirty and it's like there's always unsuspecting characters that pop
Speaker 1: up in the final five to six minutes of these
Speaker 1: games who are etched in history. And it's not someone
Speaker 1: that we're probably spending this week talking about. It will
Speaker 1: be a defensive back, the fourth defensive back on one
Speaker 1: of these teams. I think the receiver depth because like
Speaker 1: if Watkins returns, I think that helps them, or DeMarcus Robinson,
Speaker 1: whatever it is I love the matt like I'd be
Speaker 1: a little word, you know, if I'm a Bills fan
Speaker 1: or a Chief fan, Like the depth that cornerback for
Speaker 1: both teams is pretty week. We don't know if bad
Speaker 1: Brian is playing as White Sneaky has struggled about two
Speaker 1: or three straight weeks. So like when if your best
Speaker 1: player is struggling, whether he's matched up against Kelsey or Hill, like,
Speaker 1: then it's certain you know, it goes down to our
Speaker 1: old Sky Sports colleague Josh Norman, or you're gonna trust
Speaker 1: him one on one. I don't know in a big spot,
Speaker 1: or it's the other way around. It's like Gabe Davis
Speaker 1: versus some of these um Chiefs cornerbacks. I don't know.
Speaker 1: I think I'm just wishful thinking because whether it's the
Speaker 1: Chiefs are not, I just want a lot of points.
Speaker 1: And by the way, if Chad Henny starts this game,
Speaker 1: I'm changing my lock that's allowed. I'll probably a lot. Yeah,
Speaker 1: can I flip it right to the Bills? Probably If
Speaker 1: Chad Henny's right, well, I won't be flipping to the
Speaker 1: Chiefs and a lock off. In that scenario, I could
Speaker 1: see a Josh Dorman passing reference penalty having a big
Speaker 1: role in this game something. And that's one question you
Speaker 1: ahead uh conspiracy theory asked question. Now, there have been
Speaker 1: people who have said, during the second half of the season, Oh,
Speaker 1: the Chiefs just saving their their money plays. They're saving
Speaker 1: their creativity for the postseason. That's why the offense is
Speaker 1: so boring. Did we see enough last week early in
Speaker 1: that game, or do you think they're possibly saving it
Speaker 1: for this game or the or the Super Bowl? Do
Speaker 1: you think Andy Reid still has stuff in the tank
Speaker 1: and argant style stuff in the tank that we haven't
Speaker 1: seen this year? Yes, you do? Okay, I like that.
Speaker 1: I I I think pretty much every time we say
Speaker 1: that about the NFL team, they do not have the
Speaker 1: patience or I don't think they've been saving it, but
Speaker 1: Andy Reid always comes up with some It's Andy Reid
Speaker 1: is probably like, you know, hunched over a napkin right now,
Speaker 1: coming up with something that no one's seen before, just
Speaker 1: because it's Andy Reid. If you said this about like,
Speaker 1: you know, some other um, you know, trash bag team
Speaker 1: like we do, I think the Detroit Lions are saving
Speaker 1: things on a week's week basis. I don't think that
Speaker 1: they've figured out the fundamental playbook to begin with Kansas
Speaker 1: City and Andy Reid totally different about this, Mark Alternate
Speaker 1: Reality is a Browns fan. Obviously things didn't work out
Speaker 1: the way you wanted to last week. Patrick Holmes stays
Speaker 1: healthy and you still get back into the game, and
Speaker 1: then this trick play that they've had waiting, they kill
Speaker 1: you with like a minute and fourteen seconds to play
Speaker 1: with a trick play that becomes legendary. Look at it
Speaker 1: that way. You might have lost the game last week,
Speaker 1: but it could have been a heart wrenching loss with
Speaker 1: that hidden trick play coming out. That's possible. I think
Speaker 1: if Mahomes had played that whole game with the way
Speaker 1: Cleveland's defenses um, that would have been like a forty
Speaker 1: five point output. And I'd still think Kansas City tried
Speaker 1: to do with little, trying to show as little as
Speaker 1: they could against the Browns. So I don't think. I
Speaker 1: don't know if they're saving it. But man, I never
Speaker 1: I never do. Never adabt me some Andy Reid, But
Speaker 1: you were saying on this show last week that people
Speaker 1: don't see what's happening with the Browns, and there's something
Speaker 1: special going on here. You can't now say it was
Speaker 1: gonna be a forty Burger drop. I'm just saying with
Speaker 1: that was before the game, the way that I watched
Speaker 1: you know that start to take place, I'm confident they was.
Speaker 1: I also said that none of us know anything, and
Speaker 1: most of what we say turns out to be wrong.
Speaker 1: So true, Bhil before we let you go, Um, I
Speaker 1: would love a pick for both games this weekend, and
Speaker 1: then plug what what you're up to other than your
Speaker 1: fine work on the ESPN dot. I will go Chiefs. Sorry, Uh,
Speaker 1: you've kind of been a Bill's guy. I will go Bucks.
Speaker 1: As the Bucks heat up Aaron Rodgers enough to win
Speaker 1: that game in the Bill Barnwell show. You know that
Speaker 1: your podcast check Now, if he's not gonna pump himself up,
Speaker 1: we gotta do it. Last time I saw Bill Um
Speaker 1: was at the combine it and we went to dinner
Speaker 1: with someone who wouldn't shake our hands and said we
Speaker 1: should not be hugging because of coronavirus, and and they
Speaker 1: were right, and Bill and I were kind of like, oh,
Speaker 1: come on, taking it like dr you're on top of it.
Speaker 1: It was I was like, you're right, you're right. It
Speaker 1: was also like, surprisingly during that dinner, A real tape dog.
Speaker 1: That's the term. We don't watch a film around here, Bill.
Speaker 1: We we are tape dogs. We tape dogging. All right,
Speaker 1: Bill Barnwell, thank you so much, buddy, was a long
Speaker 1: time coming, and you did not disappoint. Uh. Best wishes
Speaker 1: and stay well, my friend. Thank you. There he goes
Speaker 1: Bill Barnwell, really breaking it down as he always does,
Speaker 1: before we get to Colleen Wolf and the NFC title game. Boys,
Speaker 1: let's hit some news. He stir right, No fifty seven's
Speaker 1: barn here's the new clowney. Hi, we don't play like
Speaker 1: why would you lie up here right here, right here?
Speaker 1: Put your hands up telling about he might have played
Speaker 1: last put your hands up telling about well, he took
Speaker 1: it off. He took it off. That's technique. He was
Speaker 1: how they came off. That's ap rod Hi, ron Rod
Speaker 1: quit just making up alerts. You're like you hear things
Speaker 1: your screen verse. You don't know what's going One of
Speaker 1: the great trash talkers, wholesome trash talking. He's like a
Speaker 1: Daniel Jeremiah of the football field, where he's gonna come
Speaker 1: at you with fangs, but its not gonna be foul
Speaker 1: mouthed about it, a lot of dagged gumme itt and
Speaker 1: things of that nature. Philip Rivers, what a personality, what
Speaker 1: a player, and he is now an ex player. Philip
Speaker 1: Rivers announced this week he's retiring from the NFL. That
Speaker 1: ends a seventeen year career. One of the great passers
Speaker 1: in history, a unique player. Uh In, Yes, bout this
Speaker 1: person reality and his ability to procreate with his wife Tiffany,
Speaker 1: and also with that amazing sidearm delivery. Just funky looking
Speaker 1: and it didn't look like it should work, but damn
Speaker 1: did it work for almost sixty or four thousand passing yards,
Speaker 1: ranked fifth in NFL history. Greg he was always a
Speaker 1: favorite of yours and um, so I want I'm curious
Speaker 1: about your thoughts, but let's start here. Are you surprised,
Speaker 1: because it surprised me. I didn't think there was any
Speaker 1: way he was walking off that year with the Colts.
Speaker 1: Maybe there's more to the story than we know about
Speaker 1: the conversations he had with the front office of Visuals
Speaker 1: in Indianapolis. Are you surprised this is the end of
Speaker 1: the road for Phil Rivers? I am, just because he
Speaker 1: so clearly loves his job, so much. But then when
Speaker 1: I read the explanation that it's been his lifelong dream
Speaker 1: to coach high school football, you usually would read that
Speaker 1: and think like that, that's just something athletes would say, Like,
Speaker 1: I believe it probably is his lifelong dream. And he
Speaker 1: sees his sons in seventh grade now he wants to
Speaker 1: get going with that program that he's the head coach
Speaker 1: of now in Alabama. Like, and I buy it that
Speaker 1: he's just like he's also probably feeling like he's not
Speaker 1: He's going out on a relative high note. I know
Speaker 1: they lost, but I thought he played well this year.
Speaker 1: He showed he can still play, and uh, it doesn't
Speaker 1: feel like you're dragging him off the field, Like, I
Speaker 1: think he'll have a good memory of his time in Indianapolis.
Speaker 1: I like had the pleasure of driving around yesterday and
Speaker 1: speaking of Matt money Smith, Um, you know, obviously as
Speaker 1: the play by play guy for the Chargers, he got
Speaker 1: to know Philip Rivers really well, and the way he
Speaker 1: spoke about him, I think it's just Philip Rivers the person,
Speaker 1: the experience of who he is. He's a throwback. Um,
Speaker 1: you know, all these guys are getting drafted to day
Speaker 1: they come in there, they're ready to roll. Um. But
Speaker 1: there are not a lot of Philip Rivers personalities out there.
Speaker 1: And it's yes, it's this, it's the dad humor with
Speaker 1: a little bit of an edge, but no um profanity. Uh.
Speaker 1: It's I think one of the most determined, um fiery
Speaker 1: players out there. It was just a joy to watch
Speaker 1: him on that front. And it's you know, when he
Speaker 1: went to North Carolina State, uh, in high school, they
Speaker 1: didn't want him to be a quarterback in the college
Speaker 1: level because of his throwing motion, which has been one
Speaker 1: of his um you know something that's that's tagged him forever,
Speaker 1: and he's still got it done. I just uh, it's whenever, whenever.
Speaker 1: These guys have been around for as long as we've
Speaker 1: really hardcore been watching football, um retire. It just makes
Speaker 1: you remember how much you've aged yourself because we've been
Speaker 1: watching them since two thousand and four. And this is
Speaker 1: a guy, you know, we get old. There's all these
Speaker 1: quarterbacks that come in and hey, if this guy can
Speaker 1: stay healthy, um, you know, then then he can be productive.
Speaker 1: He reaches potential. Philip Rivers is, like Eli Manning and others,
Speaker 1: the classic definition of an iron man. I mean you
Speaker 1: could not keep this guy out of the lineup, and
Speaker 1: that rises franchise and when you have a signal car
Speaker 1: like that that cannot that refuses to not suit up
Speaker 1: Rock and you brought up Matt money Smith, who I
Speaker 1: do the Power Ranking show with on NFL Network, and
Speaker 1: we were talking. One of the segments on our most
Speaker 1: recent episode was like, I did a power rankings of
Speaker 1: what are going to be the big offseason narratives to
Speaker 1: track and one of them was what are the cults
Speaker 1: going to do with Philip Rivers? A day later we
Speaker 1: found out that's already been decided, But I thought it
Speaker 1: was interesting and where interested in these things? Uh? That Money,
Speaker 1: who's you know, top broadcaster who knows rivers um and
Speaker 1: understands the mechanics of the gig, says that if Phil
Speaker 1: Rivers goes into a broadcast booth, he would be not
Speaker 1: just Tony Romo level. He thinks he could be better
Speaker 1: than Tony Romo. And you wonder if his future in
Speaker 1: a calling is in that Monday night football booth, if
Speaker 1: he can make that work, and Money seems to think
Speaker 1: he could with his scheduling as a football coach in
Speaker 1: high school with a Monday night gig. That is a
Speaker 1: really interesting thought, and it probably would pay him, uh
Speaker 1: not the same money as what he would make as
Speaker 1: a pro quarterback, right, but if he's he's good as Romo,
Speaker 1: he'd get paid like he'd like star in our industry,
Speaker 1: he could buy the entire high school conference that they're
Speaker 1: in with that with the money Monday and I think
Speaker 1: it is a I think it is a prep school. Yeah,
Speaker 1: maybe like the Friday night games and then you have
Speaker 1: Monday night. It seems it seems possible, like and that
Speaker 1: would be great because that's I mean, it's part of
Speaker 1: the reason I loved him. Like I think of west here,
Speaker 1: I think he liked Rivers and he he talks about
Speaker 1: just like characters I think West It's one of the
Speaker 1: reasons why it's fun to go to a party at
Speaker 1: West's house or visit his friends and Tybee like Westlake's characters.
Speaker 1: And to me, like Rivers wasn't the best quarterback of
Speaker 1: his generation, but he was such a character. No one
Speaker 1: threw it like him. He's so aggressive, fun to watch
Speaker 1: the trash talking you mentioned, but like the fact that
Speaker 1: the way he would trash stock would be like pointing
Speaker 1: out to the defensive players that they're doing something wrong
Speaker 1: because he knows their defense so well, Like that's a
Speaker 1: special sort of trash lock. And then you like listen
Speaker 1: to every player that played with him, whether it's offense, defense, whatever. Man,
Speaker 1: they all love Philip Rivers. I don't think that's I
Speaker 1: don't think that's fake. And I think the of course,
Speaker 1: like everyone is going to respect their quarterback and everything,
Speaker 1: but I think it's like another level, and he was underrated.
Speaker 1: Like I really believe the lack of an offensive line
Speaker 1: and a defense and a running game for so much
Speaker 1: of his career overshadows that for most of those seasons,
Speaker 1: if you ranked where he was at quarterback at the
Speaker 1: end of the season, it was so often in the
Speaker 1: top five or six, And that, to me is the
Speaker 1: best way to measure a guy is over the course
Speaker 1: of a regular season. And so when you compare him
Speaker 1: to to those oh four guys like like Roethlisberger and
Speaker 1: and Eli, like I I do think he was like
Speaker 1: a little underrated, and he's definitely a stats guy, I
Speaker 1: get it, but he was he was awesome. Man. No
Speaker 1: one like had that mid range game. He had like
Speaker 1: an old man game from the minute he was in
Speaker 1: the league. It was. It was different. Every This is
Speaker 1: a quote from Mervos. Every year January is a special
Speaker 1: and emotional day, he said, that's when the day retired.
Speaker 1: It is Saint Sebastian's feast day in the Roman Catholic faith.
Speaker 1: He's the patron saint of the athlete. It is also
Speaker 1: the day I played in the af C Championship without
Speaker 1: an a c L. And now the day, uh, now
Speaker 1: that day that after seventeen seasons, I'm announcing my retirement
Speaker 1: from the now National Football League. Great, thank you. I
Speaker 1: think he's a Hall of Famer. You really wish he
Speaker 1: had one deep run in the playoffs that took him
Speaker 1: to a super Bowl and never got there. Even you know,
Speaker 1: I talked about it marking the elimination game this year.
Speaker 1: You know, he just misses the touchdown pass and the
Speaker 1: end zone on that fourth down and to me kind
Speaker 1: of like spoke the story of his career, always so
Speaker 1: close to having that moment that then would propel the
Speaker 1: team that just never happened. So you could I guess
Speaker 1: ding him ultimately for the January record. Although it's you
Speaker 1: can't put everything on the quarterback, but overall, great player,
Speaker 1: great producer, a rock in terms of staying in the
Speaker 1: lineup and just a fun guy to cover. What else
Speaker 1: can you ask for? I think he is a Hall
Speaker 1: of Famer. I mean there's a there's a lot of
Speaker 1: interesting cases coming up. But if you look at some
Speaker 1: of the quarterbacks that are in the NFL in the
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame, like they didn't all go to the
Speaker 1: Super Bowl. I mean it's, um, it's a team sport. Uh,
Speaker 1: he'd get my vote, that freaking a c L Man
Speaker 1: if Uh. That oh seven Patriots team. Not that I
Speaker 1: would have wanted it to happen, but I think they were.
Speaker 1: They were ripe to be picked off there, and they
Speaker 1: were very competitive in that game. If you had had
Speaker 1: a healthier Philip Rivers and Tomlinson in that game. Some
Speaker 1: real bad blood between those Patriots and charges teams back then. Um, alright,
Speaker 1: so good luck to whatever comes next, Phil Rivers. I
Speaker 1: feel like you're still gonna be on our radar sooner
Speaker 1: rather than later. Moving on, the Detroit Lions introduced Dan
Speaker 1: Campbell as their new head coach after signing to that
Speaker 1: six year contract. And this is just fun. Let's listen
Speaker 1: to the opening remarks from Campbell in his press conference
Speaker 1: with the media on Thursday. This team is gonna be
Speaker 1: built on um. We're gonna kick you in the teeth,
Speaker 1: all right, and when you punch us back, we're gonna
Speaker 1: smile at you. And when you knock us down, we're
Speaker 1: gonna get up. And on the way up, we're gonna
Speaker 1: buy the knee cap off, all right, and we're gonna
Speaker 1: stand up. And then it's gonna take two more shots
Speaker 1: to knock us down, all right. And on the way up,
Speaker 1: we're gonna take your other knee cap and we're gonna
Speaker 1: get up. And then it's gonna take three shots to
Speaker 1: get us down. And when we do, we're gonna take
Speaker 1: another hon kout of you. Before before were there going
Speaker 1: to be the last one standing. Mark, You're surprised. What's
Speaker 1: the hire of Stone called? Steve Austin is the head coach?
Speaker 1: At feel like the NFL is already investigating his um
Speaker 1: opening press conference, probably for some of the things he
Speaker 1: promised to do. But I mean, I I what I
Speaker 1: was surprised by was a six year contract. Um, you know,
Speaker 1: site unseen. This isn't like hiring Bill Parcel's part two
Speaker 1: and so uh this to me, you know, look at I.
Speaker 1: I like this story already. I mean there's a lot
Speaker 1: to like. Um, if it goes well, I feel like
Speaker 1: it's gonna go really really well or it's not gonna
Speaker 1: play at all, And like it's because that's that's sort
Speaker 1: of that's his personality. Does this register? Um? And what's
Speaker 1: the rest of them about? I I like the whole
Speaker 1: idea of it, but it's a huge wait and see
Speaker 1: for me. But they're showing tremendous faith with a six
Speaker 1: year deal. Yeah. I I just love that he's going
Speaker 1: to be part of our lives. I mean maybe maybe
Speaker 1: biting people's kneecaps off is like the new money ball,
Speaker 1: Like that's the way to get an advantage in the NFL.
Speaker 1: I'll just bye bye some knee kept. It's just it's
Speaker 1: just funny because they hired Chris Spielman, and I would like,
Speaker 1: I really like Chris Spielman as an analyst on Fox.
Speaker 1: He was actually one of my favorites, even if I
Speaker 1: didn't always agree with him. But they basically hired Chris
Speaker 1: Spielman to like hire another version of Chris Spielman, because
Speaker 1: that's sort of how Chris Spielman talks, is like this
Speaker 1: ultimate macho, tough guy. I love that he's just this huge,
Speaker 1: like Miami Beach looking bodybuilder type, but like packed into
Speaker 1: this little this suit, you know. But he kind of
Speaker 1: talks and looks like Jeff Bridges. I think it was
Speaker 1: rhodopadd who pointed that out, Like he he talks like
Speaker 1: the dude, like there's everything about it's great. I don't
Speaker 1: know if any of it's gonna work. He hired Aaron Glenn,
Speaker 1: who a lot of people really like, as defensive coordinator,
Speaker 1: and he did say some things in that press conference
Speaker 1: about their offensive philosophy that was much more about like
Speaker 1: what the Saints do and matchup based and and I
Speaker 1: thought intelligent that, you know, that didn't get as much play.
Speaker 1: But I think you know, he's he's a Saints coach,
Speaker 1: so he's gonna take a lot of what they did
Speaker 1: and try to apply it. Uh. In other news, sad
Speaker 1: news to report at a green Bay, Wisconsin um, former
Speaker 1: Packers general manager Ted Thompson, the man who drafted Aaron
Speaker 1: Rodgers in his first draft in charge at Green Bay,
Speaker 1: traded away. Brett Farve helped build that championship team that
Speaker 1: won Super Bowl forty five. He has died sadly. Matt Lafleur,
Speaker 1: the head coach, alerted the media. Sixty eight years old,
Speaker 1: just sixty eight. Ted Thompson played ten season in the NFL,
Speaker 1: in two in the seventies and to the eighties. Was
Speaker 1: the GM for Green Bay from two thousand five through
Speaker 1: two thousand seventeen. Uh he moved into a consultant role, uh,
Speaker 1: starting because of declining health. UH. And now we learned
Speaker 1: that he has passed away, very sad and I will
Speaker 1: just share a memory I had. You know, this is
Speaker 1: the first year we're not going to the Combine in
Speaker 1: a decade. And um, I used to love the Ted
Speaker 1: Thompson press conferences at the Combine, um I wrote back
Speaker 1: in two thousand sixteen, which was his second to last
Speaker 1: year on the job. Is GM, I wrote on NFL
Speaker 1: dot com. If Mitch Hedberg were reincarnated as a prominent
Speaker 1: front office official in the NFL, he'd beat Ted Thompson.
Speaker 1: I just he he had a dry wit and a
Speaker 1: subtle sense of humor, and it it's seen it kind
Speaker 1: of undercut the rigidness of the NFL machine around him,
Speaker 1: especially in that setting at the Combine. He didn't take
Speaker 1: anything too seriously. But at the same time, he was
Speaker 1: very serious about his business, which included building teams through
Speaker 1: the draft. Mark he was all about the draft. Famously
Speaker 1: didn't like to sign pricey free agents. That was his mantra,
Speaker 1: and it helped the Packers having him in charge all
Speaker 1: those years. I mean, the greatest thing about those combine
Speaker 1: Um pressers where they were trying to press Ted Thompson
Speaker 1: to finally acknowledge that he might dip into free agency
Speaker 1: and make a big splash, and he just completely ignored
Speaker 1: the concept of that. I mean really, he zigged when
Speaker 1: everyone else was zagging when it came to that part
Speaker 1: of the off season. Um, and it worked. Um. You like,
Speaker 1: I think the one thing that these general managers have
Speaker 1: this incredible power at is you completely have the ability
Speaker 1: to change a franchise forever. And who had a bigger imprint.
Speaker 1: I mean, the Packers have had a number of great
Speaker 1: general managers, but um, in the Rogers era, I mean
Speaker 1: it's all about Ted Thompson and uh, they have a
Speaker 1: whole different philosophy now. But he was a very memorable
Speaker 1: and it's a huge part of what Green Bay did.
Speaker 1: He's a He's a huge part of this team too.
Speaker 1: You know. He he drafted Davante Adams, he drafted Corey Lindsley,
Speaker 1: they're all pro center. He drafted Kenny Clark, he drafted
Speaker 1: Dean Lowry who's still playing for them. He drafted Aaron Jones,
Speaker 1: you know, and then I think he'll always be remembered
Speaker 1: more than anything as as the guy who drafted Aaron Rodgers,
Speaker 1: even though was Farve was there. It's definitely. Uh, it's
Speaker 1: definitely sad, but he was one of the you know,
Speaker 1: one of the best to do it, if anything like.
Speaker 1: He was so loyal to Mike McCarthy. I always wanted
Speaker 1: to see you know, well that was always a a
Speaker 1: conversation on our podcast, Well, I would like to see
Speaker 1: Rogers with a different coach, and you know, now you
Speaker 1: see it, and um, but that was that was it
Speaker 1: was his organization more than anyone. Ted Thompson. It's crazy
Speaker 1: how how many of those players. It's not like that
Speaker 1: on many other teams actually, that you have that many
Speaker 1: players going back that far, so it goes to show
Speaker 1: they wouldn't be there here right now without him. Yes,
Speaker 1: Ted Thompson passes away at the age of sixty eight.
Speaker 1: Rest in piece. Uh. In other news, Dwayne Haskins looks
Speaker 1: like he's about to get another job. It's out there
Speaker 1: report from where is the support from? Official? Now it's
Speaker 1: now official. It's officially official as we initially reported it.
Speaker 1: But now it's a deal done deal that the Pittsburgh
Speaker 1: Steelers have signed h Dwayne Haskins as a free agent.
Speaker 1: This is a Steelers team mark that has some uncertainty
Speaker 1: at quarterback in their future. You have an old man
Speaker 1: and Ben Roethlisberger. And by the way, look now, let's
Speaker 1: take a look at this. Phil Rivers retired, Eli Manning
Speaker 1: long retired, the third in the big trio of the
Speaker 1: two thousand four draft picks, Ben Roethlisberg, and now the
Speaker 1: last man standing, Mason Rudolph. Not a great backup quarterback.
Speaker 1: I guess the thought here is that Mike Tomlin and
Speaker 1: his staff staff can turn Dwayne Haskins into a professional
Speaker 1: quarterback that maybe could be the future at the position.
Speaker 1: I just can't help but wonder if the Roethlisberger announcement
Speaker 1: is pending or coming soon. Watching the way that he
Speaker 1: you know, he shed tears at the end of that game.
Speaker 1: I had nothing to do with that one game, and
Speaker 1: I think it had to do with a lot more
Speaker 1: weight Um that he was pondering at the time. I mean,
Speaker 1: for me, it's it's a people. There were a lot
Speaker 1: of Steelers fans during the season saying when Haskins is
Speaker 1: let go, and it just was the tea leaves were
Speaker 1: there that he was someone a lot of Steelers fans wanted.
Speaker 1: I mean, Big Ben came from Ohio and tortured Ohio
Speaker 1: teams forever, Um Haskins Ohio state. That would be a
Speaker 1: nice narrative to continue. I mean, it's a project, but
Speaker 1: it's a much better environment. I think for Dwayne Haskins, Um,
Speaker 1: we will see. I think he does some things really well. Um.
Speaker 1: I don't think you'd view him as a starter, but
Speaker 1: it could be like we're gonna stock up on quarterbacks
Speaker 1: because Big Ben is out the door. I'm surprised how
Speaker 1: many Steelers fans and seemed to want Roethlisberger to retire.
Speaker 1: I know he wasn't playing his best. Um, it's decentcly
Speaker 1: bispased on those last six weeks. And and Pickner, you know,
Speaker 1: their offensive coordinator got let go or didn't renew his
Speaker 1: contract that supposedly, you know, Roethlisberger wasn't gonna be fired
Speaker 1: up about that that, but they did promote Matt Canada,
Speaker 1: who had been there. Um, I don't know. I don't
Speaker 1: know how that affects it. I do think maybe we're
Speaker 1: due for some like quarterback retirement drama. Haven't had a
Speaker 1: lot of that lately, you know. I think Ben is
Speaker 1: the man to do it, you know, like, is he
Speaker 1: gonna do it? Is he not? Yes, I'm retiring, But
Speaker 1: then he changed his mind two months later. Let's do
Speaker 1: it like he could go with Ted Thompson. How to
Speaker 1: deal with for years with Brett Farve. Yeah great, I
Speaker 1: can't can't wait to track that all offseason. And finally
Speaker 1: in the news, this just went down, uh, and it's
Speaker 1: it's a big deal for the Eagles and all the
Speaker 1: fans out there. And speaking of Eiggles fans, she wasn't
Speaker 1: scheduled to join us for a few it to dig
Speaker 1: in on the NFC title game. But since the Eagles
Speaker 1: have zeroed in on a new head coach, let's bring
Speaker 1: around a little bit earlier. The Great Tiny Box Connie Fox,
Speaker 1: Colleen Wolf woom boom for the show what's up? Hi?
Speaker 1: Great to see you guys love to see all your faces,
Speaker 1: and I really just love to hear the song. So
Speaker 1: I'm just trying to come on it as many times
Speaker 1: as I kend of here and in my headphone, I
Speaker 1: feel cooler. I mean, it's a new day day. I
Speaker 1: want to start driving around like the neighborhoods here, just
Speaker 1: like tearing it up with this song, just blaring, maybe
Speaker 1: ruth off. Who knows it's gonna happen. What are the
Speaker 1: neighbors like around? They don't talk to me. I don't
Speaker 1: know any of them. I've been in your neighborhood. I
Speaker 1: don't think that would play well down there from from
Speaker 1: what I've seen. Um, there's a lot of children. Let's
Speaker 1: get into it. You must fit right in exactly. Uh.
Speaker 1: The Eagles have a new football coach, locked and loaded here, Connie.
Speaker 1: It is Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni. Rap sheet Garifolo,
Speaker 1: Tom Pellicero report. I mean, I've been down this road before.
Speaker 1: That gets the point where we have three of the
Speaker 1: quote unquote insiders on our network, all sourced reporting on it.
Speaker 1: Just make an NFL network and you don't get to
Speaker 1: use the names anymore. If I was in the newsroom,
Speaker 1: but I'm not, haven't been since March. And even if
Speaker 1: I wasn't when it matters, doesn't matter. None of this matters.
Speaker 1: Doug Peterson is out, as we know after that four
Speaker 1: eleven in one campaign. Uh so the Eagles make that
Speaker 1: surprise move to dump Peterson and he's piste off. He's
Speaker 1: probably taking a year off. But here is Nick Sirianni Connie.
Speaker 1: We don't know much about Nick other than uh, he
Speaker 1: was with Frank Reich, who's obviously that's a good guy
Speaker 1: to be working with. And under your initial thoughts, do
Speaker 1: you have any initial thoughts on what's going on with
Speaker 1: the Eagles here? Well, this all just happened, so it's
Speaker 1: all pretty new, pretty fresh. Um, we heard that obviously
Speaker 1: he was in the mix in terms of somebody that
Speaker 1: the Eagles were interested in him and Josh McDaniels. So
Speaker 1: I guess this is better than Josh McDaniels. But I don't.
Speaker 1: I don't really know, because this guy, we've never seen
Speaker 1: him as a head coach before, first timer, and Philly
Speaker 1: is not exactly an easy place to be first time
Speaker 1: any position, I think, in anything, especially when everyone is
Speaker 1: judging and watching your every move. Plus he inherits this
Speaker 1: quarterback situation, which I'm not sure how that's gonna go down.
Speaker 1: It's pretty complicated. It's a I feel like it's a
Speaker 1: messy situation. Considering Howie Roseman, the GM is clearly very
Speaker 1: married to Carson Wentz. I read an amazing article in
Speaker 1: the Inquire that Jeff McLean had up about the giant
Speaker 1: poster that is plastered on Howie Roseman's wall in his
Speaker 1: office of Carson wentz um So that just like kind
Speaker 1: of sets the table. Welcome to Philly, Nick, and just
Speaker 1: but by a little way, you know, some background for listeners.
Speaker 1: He's thirty nine years old. Sirianni came into the league
Speaker 1: as a quality control coach in Kansas City under Todd
Speaker 1: Haley in two thousand nine four seasons there, then moved
Speaker 1: up to wide receivers coach. There moves to San Diego's
Speaker 1: five season with the Chargers as their quality control coach.
Speaker 1: I don't know what that means, QB coach, wide receiver coach,
Speaker 1: and then he got the call to be the Oh
Speaker 1: see Greg. For me, it's like this is my additional thought,
Speaker 1: and I am like, we said, this is kind of
Speaker 1: a higher where you're gonna have to wait it out
Speaker 1: and see whether this guy can play the guitar, if
Speaker 1: you will. But my whole thought when you dumped Doug
Speaker 1: Peterson is like, you better get somebody in there that's
Speaker 1: gonna inspire the troops and be an upgrade over the
Speaker 1: Super Bowl winning coach, and we'll see if he is.
Speaker 1: But again, with Peterson, it was maybe about Carson Wentz
Speaker 1: more than anything else, right. I think the reports you
Speaker 1: know that Eagles management and they were doing it down
Speaker 1: in Florida. I like, when the team does that, come
Speaker 1: to my owner's huge mansion in Florida. We're gonna do
Speaker 1: our interview? Is there? Like we're not going back to
Speaker 1: that facility, like in the middle of winter. Who do
Speaker 1: you think we are? I think the reports that say
Speaker 1: they basically told the coaches like you're gonna work with
Speaker 1: Carson Wentz, Like, I think that was part of it.
Speaker 1: I mean that you're what's your plan for for helping
Speaker 1: out Wentz and fixing this situation? So I think Sirianni,
Speaker 1: who worked with Frank Reich, um you probably sold himself
Speaker 1: on that he was not the play caller. Though in Indianapolis,
Speaker 1: you know Frank Reich because sometimes some people think play
Speaker 1: callings a little overrated. So he's a quarterbacks guy working
Speaker 1: with Rivers in San Diego and then Indianapolis with you know,
Speaker 1: I guess a trio of quarterbacks, you know, Luck and
Speaker 1: Brissette and and Rivers. It's a big gamble. It feels
Speaker 1: like it's like you have to get this one right
Speaker 1: for this is this this brass I think, you know
Speaker 1: how he specifically they're attaching themselves to Wentz and Sirianni
Speaker 1: and like that's it. And if you're an Eagles fan,
Speaker 1: there's probably part of you that thinks, like, you know,
Speaker 1: it felt like we kind of went with Andy Reid's
Speaker 1: guy for the last coach. We went with like Frank
Speaker 1: Reik's guy for this coach. You know, wouldn't have been
Speaker 1: nice to just like keep Andy Reid or Frank Reich.
Speaker 1: I guess, like if they're the ones kind of picking
Speaker 1: our coaches, Andy Reid, like Jalen Hurts, Mark, he you know,
Speaker 1: he put a lot of good tape out there at
Speaker 1: the end of the season. So this feels like to me,
Speaker 1: Mark that it could be a dangerous situation in terms
Speaker 1: of locker room chemistry and the locker room maybe being
Speaker 1: siding with one quarterback over the other. And now you
Speaker 1: insert this rookie head coach in as Connie said, a
Speaker 1: volcanic market in Philadelphia. We'll see it's it's the thorniest
Speaker 1: landing spot out there east of the Texans because of
Speaker 1: everything we've mentioned. And this is the They still have
Speaker 1: the front office that drafted Jalen Hurts, but has you know,
Speaker 1: life size, life size posters of Carson Wentz and the
Speaker 1: general manager. That's part of its weird, right, I mean
Speaker 1: they they're the ones that drafted hurt supposedly. I don't
Speaker 1: know it's right. And and and Roseman and Jeffrey LORII
Speaker 1: are two p's in a pod. So I just think
Speaker 1: you comming. I think number one Doug, Doug Peterson seemed
Speaker 1: to lack the authority to hire his own staff to
Speaker 1: some degree over the past couple of years. And I
Speaker 1: think that that was a an issue between them and
Speaker 1: why they parted ways that they wanted to change the
Speaker 1: way they did things. And now so Sirianni, Sirianni comes
Speaker 1: in UM with the general manager and the owner completely
Speaker 1: linked UM and in a mind meld over Carson Wentz.
Speaker 1: Starting when I would imagine most of the fan base
Speaker 1: is kind of done with Carson Wentz on some level.
Speaker 1: Um after what you've seen from Jalen Hurts, who this
Speaker 1: team drafted highly and put themselves in this situation. So
Speaker 1: um quite murky. If I'm Sirianni, I might want to
Speaker 1: be like Doug Peterson and take the paid year off,
Speaker 1: but that's not an option for him. Wow. Okay, Colleen
Speaker 1: is the Carson Wentz uh artwork or post or whatever
Speaker 1: it is behind Howie Roseman the most troubling UH decour
Speaker 1: since the Alex Rodriguez Minotaur painting. I never forget about that,
Speaker 1: Like I have never, ever once forgotten about that, And
Speaker 1: it's really haunted me because at the time I remember
Speaker 1: I was I was just dating. I wasn't married to
Speaker 1: John yet, and I remember how horrifying. John Renald gonzalazpor
Speaker 1: Mar twelve is an American sports writer. Was married NFL
Speaker 1: meda broadcaster Colley Wolf. John, who was a Pisces, resides
Speaker 1: in Los Angeles with his wife and two dogs. The
Speaker 1: thought of exactly the thought of just like walking into
Speaker 1: some guy's house that I just met and seeing that
Speaker 1: on the wall, or you know, not just met, but
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, like we've had we've had
Speaker 1: a courtship, some checkpoints. Um, that would be horrifying, So
Speaker 1: thanks for bringing it up. He really walked into that one.
Speaker 1: And what a what a world series add against your
Speaker 1: Phillies in two thousand nine, we can get into that too.
Speaker 1: Maybe at some point, John, I just met four hours earlier.
Speaker 1: I was there. I watched the Yankees clinch against the Phillies.
Speaker 1: I was there too. I mean, how have I not
Speaker 1: been at that game and noticed, like Greg is at
Speaker 1: every historical event ever, brought us forts Gump alright, and
Speaker 1: every afterwards, they just played on Loop New York, New York,
Speaker 1: over and over and over and we had to like
Speaker 1: tape wraps and do interviews and everything, and they just
Speaker 1: didn't stop. So I mean, I'm a Red Sex fan,
Speaker 1: so I got out of there fairly quick. But I
Speaker 1: watched the little enjoyment for a couple of minutes. All right, Connie, Um, yes,
Speaker 1: that's what's happening in the news. Let's now move to
Speaker 1: the NFC title game. And uh, you know, Colleen, I
Speaker 1: love it. Can't wait to see Aaron Rodgers on this
Speaker 1: stage in his building against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and
Speaker 1: all the focus is on Aaron Rodgers against Tom Brady,
Speaker 1: But as we know in our league and our sport,
Speaker 1: it's not actually those two guys like in in like
Speaker 1: ancient rome with swords and shields fighting each other, which
Speaker 1: would be cool. I would watch that, uh, And I
Speaker 1: don't know who i'd pick to win that. We'll get
Speaker 1: to that later. It's actually to me, the matchup I
Speaker 1: care more about is Aaron Rodgers and this offense that
Speaker 1: is so beautifully designed against the Tampa Bay defense, which
Speaker 1: just embarrassed Drew Brees and potentially his last game. How
Speaker 1: do you feel about Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay here?
Speaker 1: Do you think they're going to continue to roll offensively?
Speaker 1: I do? I feel like if I was just going
Speaker 1: on gut the whole time I have been with the Packers. Now,
Speaker 1: obviously that did not happen week six, and I have
Speaker 1: been labeled a Bucks hater for some reason all year long,
Speaker 1: So this must be something that is like actually happening.
Speaker 1: It has to be a theme. But I agree because
Speaker 1: I almost feel like that Week six game was just
Speaker 1: so weird and it was such a bad performance for
Speaker 1: the Packers and Aaron Rodgers in general, and everything came
Speaker 1: up the Buck's way. But it just seems like that
Speaker 1: was such a different team, and honestly, like in the
Speaker 1: NFL season and especially now, where I feel like that
Speaker 1: was so long ago, it feels like that was last
Speaker 1: season Week six, and now this team, the Packers, the
Speaker 1: way that they came out even last Week four in
Speaker 1: eighty four total yards of offense against this Rams defense.
Speaker 1: And I know that they didn't have a one Aaron
Speaker 1: Donald and that obviously played a huge role in it.
Speaker 1: But the run game looked really good for the Packers.
Speaker 1: They were balanced. And then of course the Bucks coming
Speaker 1: off that game against the Saints where they just got
Speaker 1: turnover after turnover, like this is gonna be a little
Speaker 1: bit different for the Bucks defense going up against Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 1: You're not going to have Drew Brees who couldn't stretch
Speaker 1: the field at all. What he only did he complete
Speaker 1: any passes over twenty yards? I think one maybe, So
Speaker 1: it's gonna be a lot different from last week and
Speaker 1: Week six. The only thing that would that would concern
Speaker 1: me a little bit is that the Bucks have been
Speaker 1: great against the run. Um Vita Vee is coming back,
Speaker 1: and you know, uh, this was a team that selectively
Speaker 1: um and effectively blitzed Rogers um at a higher rate
Speaker 1: than any team has back in Week six. So I
Speaker 1: know that a lot has changed. I'm with you. Um.
Speaker 1: Our friend Nate Tys points out that this Packers offense
Speaker 1: right now, um, they are one of three teams since
Speaker 1: two thousand and two to average more than a field
Speaker 1: goal per drive, and the other two or the two
Speaker 1: thousand and seven Patriots and the twenty eighteen Chiefs. So
Speaker 1: it tells you that the Packers have grown into this.
Speaker 1: We spent all last week. Oh what you know, Brandon
Speaker 1: Staley and the Rams defense, I think they might be
Speaker 1: good enough to go to the Super Bowl and shut
Speaker 1: everyone down and then like within fifteen minutes of that
Speaker 1: game starting, and I know that there were issues for
Speaker 1: the Rams in that game. It was like, no, that's
Speaker 1: not how football works in necessarily, So it's not just
Speaker 1: the Bucks defense. I mean, their offense is huge in this,
Speaker 1: but the Packers are not. I would be stunned if
Speaker 1: they duplicate that effort because the Bucks were so effective
Speaker 1: against them. But the Bucks have to be a little
Speaker 1: bit different this time around. And you can't fool Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 1: Bucks defense isn't as good as they were back then. Either.
Speaker 1: They started the season like a house on fire. Um,
Speaker 1: they're not were last week? You know they were, but
Speaker 1: they that was against I think it compromised Um offense.
Speaker 1: You know they weren't against Washington. Gave a lot of yards.
Speaker 1: There's such a boom or bust defense. That's just who
Speaker 1: they are. And you saw like the ultimate like boom
Speaker 1: situation in Week six. But they give up big plays.
Speaker 1: It's all these young defensive backs who they have kind
Speaker 1: of playing man coverage and like stuck in one on
Speaker 1: one situations. So much of it I think is going
Speaker 1: to come down to like the most hiring topic of
Speaker 1: of the Packer season, which is like Lazard and MBS, Like,
Speaker 1: at what point, and you just gave a great stat
Speaker 1: one of the best three offenses in terms of scoring
Speaker 1: per drive in the last twenty years, Like at what point, well,
Speaker 1: people shut up about them not drafting receiver. At what
Speaker 1: level does the Packers offense need to be where that
Speaker 1: is a stupid point where they're like I still can't
Speaker 1: believe they took a quarterback. It's like you have the
Speaker 1: number one offense in the league. There's another one, by
Speaker 1: the way, Greg tied to what you were saying, and
Speaker 1: I'll use that guy's voice as well. Just imagine what
Speaker 1: this team would look like with the first phone, right,
Speaker 1: That's what That's what I'm talking, Okay, I would flip
Speaker 1: it and say, maybe imagine them with another cornerback or
Speaker 1: another linebacker. That's where I'm worried in this game. I'm
Speaker 1: not I'm with you Colleen and Mark that I'm not
Speaker 1: really that worried about the Packers putting up points and
Speaker 1: moving the ball. I think their offensive line will win battles,
Speaker 1: and I think Rogers is just gonna He's just so
Speaker 1: patient right now. It's crazy that I just can't imagine
Speaker 1: unless you're a really special defense, you're gonna slow them down.
Speaker 1: And I don't think the Bucks are that special defensively. Connie,
Speaker 1: do you think the bearded boy Met Lafleur deserves more
Speaker 1: credit than he's gotten, because you know, the record speaks
Speaker 1: for itself. They've now won. When fourteen fourteen plus thirteen
Speaker 1: is unfourteen plus ten wins against seven losses in two seasons,
Speaker 1: I think that's all right. Um, so the record is great.
Speaker 1: But also his ability. And there were whispers last year
Speaker 1: that the offense wasn't exactly where Aaron Rodgers wanted it
Speaker 1: to be, and and they certainly weren't as explosive. But
Speaker 1: how about this some patients. He installs a system that
Speaker 1: he believes in La Fleur and it grows and builds
Speaker 1: to the juggernaut it has become. Now Matt Lafleur des
Speaker 1: there's more credit for his role in this offense. Well,
Speaker 1: I think too, because yeah, for sure, because you think
Speaker 1: about all of the credit that Sean McVeigh got when
Speaker 1: the Rams were having all of their success offensively, and
Speaker 1: it was like, oh my god, Sean McVeigh is a genius.
Speaker 1: He's so young, he's got a photographic memory. It's incredible.
Speaker 1: Like I feel like, maybe who knows, but I think
Speaker 1: that Matt Flora like doesn't really get that same cashe
Speaker 1: because the difference of Jared Goff and Aaron Rodgers and
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers in year two with Matt Lafleur is is
Speaker 1: just so much better than I think anyone could have expected.
Speaker 1: And it's so hard to to kind of um pinpoint
Speaker 1: where the credit should go and how much credit you
Speaker 1: should give to who because it's such a collaborative effort.
Speaker 1: But the offense with Aaron Rodgers is just working so well,
Speaker 1: and that that connection that Rogers has with Davante Adams
Speaker 1: is just so next level. Rogers said that besides Charles Woodson,
Speaker 1: the Davanta Adams is the best player he's ever played with,
Speaker 1: which is such high praise. And it just seems like
Speaker 1: they're always on the same page. But they weren't week six,
Speaker 1: and I think I have to go back and look.
Speaker 1: But wasn't though he hadn't played for three weeks, and
Speaker 1: so I think it's like we're getting a different form
Speaker 1: of them now, right. I was. I was trying to
Speaker 1: remember if that that was his first game back from
Speaker 1: the hamstring. Yeah, nothing in that game and then everything
Speaker 1: went south, right, So I think that that's part of
Speaker 1: the reason why I think things will be a little
Speaker 1: bit different this time around. But Matt with Floura, I mean,
Speaker 1: if he if the Packers go all the way, um,
Speaker 1: even if they just in this week, we're gonna be
Speaker 1: talking about them for two weeks. So I think that
Speaker 1: La Fleura will get his do Now I'm adding now,
Speaker 1: I'm adding more syllables to the flour's name after Tom
Speaker 1: Palisero did his whole thing on NFL. Now about how
Speaker 1: it's three syllables everyone is like pronounced, so say it right,
Speaker 1: what is it? He said, It's supposed to be La Fleur? Like, well,
Speaker 1: that sounds like if you really wanted to go into
Speaker 1: the nuance you would say that. Well, and now it's
Speaker 1: like five syllables for me. So it's on. It's on
Speaker 1: the bowls as sons. Greg to figure out a way
Speaker 1: to cook up a scheme to slow down this offense,
Speaker 1: and we saw it. Devin White, he kind of led
Speaker 1: the way last week and the Vita Vea thing which
Speaker 1: Mark brought up. We don't know what he if he
Speaker 1: does play what he's gonna give you. He's coming off
Speaker 1: a broken leg and just came back to practice, but
Speaker 1: he was one of the top top graded interior alignment
Speaker 1: before he wins. Also, I mean I would say this,
Speaker 1: he's bigger than the door I'm looking at over here.
Speaker 1: I mean, you just put him on the field and
Speaker 1: you've got you got something to work with some Well, yes, perhaps,
Speaker 1: but Greg, do you think that um they'll be able
Speaker 1: to build Billy Barnwell thinks that they can cook up
Speaker 1: pressure and heat up rogers. I know you've been somewhat
Speaker 1: critical of their past rushes this year. Yeah, I don't
Speaker 1: think Jack Barrett has been the same. You know JPP
Speaker 1: has been Okay. Um, they actually were playing I was
Speaker 1: wondering last week. So they played this guy Anthony Nelson
Speaker 1: a little more who had a couple of good rushes.
Speaker 1: And because they play you know, Barrett and JPP so much,
Speaker 1: I think Devin White versus like Aaron Jones is huge. Um, Like,
Speaker 1: I think the run games for both these teams are
Speaker 1: so important. It's kind of because La Fleur it is
Speaker 1: sneaky like a heavy run guy early in games too.
Speaker 1: It's not just like they get ahead like they already
Speaker 1: running team. Their backfield is awesome right now, like Aaron
Speaker 1: Jones is the man. But but Jamal Williams to me
Speaker 1: is one of the best backups in league. And A J.
Speaker 1: Dillan's good too. It's like they are they are going
Speaker 1: to run and the Bucks run defense hasn't been as
Speaker 1: good lately. I defensively, I just kind of think like
Speaker 1: maybe this will be wrong because of the weather, but
Speaker 1: it just feels like there's only gonna be ah so
Speaker 1: many stops in this game, there's not gonna be that many.
Speaker 1: To me, the Bucks have a few more playmakers where
Speaker 1: can you make one play, Like, can you just make
Speaker 1: one big defensive play whether it's a sack, fumble or
Speaker 1: an interception or whatever it is, to just you know,
Speaker 1: give a little bit of an edge in a game
Speaker 1: that I'm picking is thirty one thirty um, But it's
Speaker 1: like a lot of points. It's either way, like and
Speaker 1: I think the Bucks maybe have those guys. Maybe it'll
Speaker 1: be Carlton Davis or Devin White or Lavonte David or
Speaker 1: JPP or someone where maybe they have a couple more
Speaker 1: guys who can make like one big play even if
Speaker 1: they're not gonna make many stops. And don't forget what
Speaker 1: Devin White did for this this Packers team actually, because
Speaker 1: after that Week six game, Devin White told reporters that
Speaker 1: Green Bay didn't deserve to be on the field with them.
Speaker 1: I mean, you don't think that that, I know, Matt
Speaker 1: l Laura was asked about at this week. You don't
Speaker 1: think that that's going to play a part in the
Speaker 1: locker room that do you think they're going to try harder,
Speaker 1: They're going to try. They're gonna try a little harder,
Speaker 1: little well, hold on. I think Colleen is a point
Speaker 1: because you're dealing with Aaron Rodgers, who nothing, um it
Speaker 1: sticks to him. And he had a quote also. I
Speaker 1: love this because I thought he was shooting a arrow
Speaker 1: right at our podcast and maybe even myself. He said,
Speaker 1: we got a lot of comments about how we were
Speaker 1: the worst thirteen and three team they'd seen last year.
Speaker 1: Not getting a lot of those comments this year. So yes,
Speaker 1: I think some of this stuff does matter, and I
Speaker 1: think it does register that they have been tracking you
Speaker 1: for a couple of years and that was about you.
Speaker 1: That's why. How often do you claim how often do
Speaker 1: you claim that some quote that you throw out there
Speaker 1: has been tracked by a head coach. It's utterly absurd.
Speaker 1: We all know it's absurd, and we just we go
Speaker 1: along with it. Would you like to sometime, would you
Speaker 1: like to issue a statement to Rogers now that he
Speaker 1: follows everything you say. I will say that the team
Speaker 1: last year was thirteen and three. I thought it was
Speaker 1: one of the worst thirteen and three teams i'd seen.
Speaker 1: They got absolutely thrashed in the playoffs. This version of
Speaker 1: the Packers I have said for months playoffs, totally believe in.
Speaker 1: I thought you were going to lock them up. Maybe
Speaker 1: you know you were talking about why back to you
Speaker 1: in the corner. You don't have to go against me.
Speaker 1: It might be smarter not to. If I'm telling you
Speaker 1: what to do, I'm just saying, I mean, you don't
Speaker 1: do whatever you want it. I am doing what I want.
Speaker 1: I will be locking up the packers, um and riding
Speaker 1: with Bam at lock up last week. I'll do it again.
Speaker 1: It doesn't matter because I'm not in the competition. But
Speaker 1: I'm a completist. And you said it, um, Greg about
Speaker 1: the running game for Green Bay. Um. I just read
Speaker 1: a really good piece by Connor Hughes on The Athletic
Speaker 1: who was talking about what Mike Laflir brings to the
Speaker 1: Jets offense, the brother of Matt Um and it is
Speaker 1: it's all dictated the Kyle Shannah and offense, which la
Speaker 1: floor both ors our disciples, is powered off the run
Speaker 1: and it's the run that sets up the past. So yes,
Speaker 1: that's that's been an underrated element of everyone is just
Speaker 1: all zeroed in on Aaron Rodgers. But the reason why
Speaker 1: this is working is because they have that balance, and
Speaker 1: that makes things like the play action and all the
Speaker 1: other gadgets that are built into the office work that
Speaker 1: much better. And and I think we should give the
Speaker 1: Bucks running game a little bit of love. I'm taking
Speaker 1: the Bucks by the way. I'm riding. I'm riding this
Speaker 1: Bucks wave. I I look at like the two teams,
Speaker 1: and I think the Packers defense is the worst group
Speaker 1: in the game. Now, maybe the Packers offense is so much,
Speaker 1: so much better than any other group. That doesn't matter.
Speaker 1: And but to me, I think that's where the like
Speaker 1: the most mismatches are. They gave up a ton against
Speaker 1: the ground. I love the way Ronald Jones runs. He's
Speaker 1: got a lot of juice. I think he's underrated. I
Speaker 1: think that's one of the reasons they won last week
Speaker 1: was they were able to run in the second half,
Speaker 1: for Nets running really well. And then you just like,
Speaker 1: look at all the matchups, assuming Antonio Brown plays, which
Speaker 1: I think is a big factor, especially over the middle
Speaker 1: of the field. It's Brown and Gronk and Bright and
Speaker 1: you know, you know, maybe even for Net in the
Speaker 1: in the passing game and Godwin, and it's against all
Speaker 1: these linebackers who Dan would call Hammond Eggers and safeties
Speaker 1: who are okay in the you know, are not aren't
Speaker 1: really that great in coverage set, you know. I think
Speaker 1: there's just a lot of mismatches. That's That's what I mean.
Speaker 1: Where they could have used that first round pick at
Speaker 1: cornerback and these two cornerbacks, like there's no one better
Speaker 1: at adjustin. We're back with the draft again. We're back there,
Speaker 1: back like there's no one there's no one better at
Speaker 1: adjusting than Brady and and Rodgers, and so I think
Speaker 1: they'll both find mismatches as the game goes along. Brady's
Speaker 1: numbers in the fourth quarter this year, I went to
Speaker 1: check because it was like it feels like he's just
Speaker 1: been on fire, are outrageous, Like he has closed games
Speaker 1: so well, and this feels like a game where it's
Speaker 1: like whoever has the ball last wins. That's what I'm
Speaker 1: hoping for, and I think it will be the Bucks. Connie,
Speaker 1: what's your pick in this game? Games? In fact, Oh, okay,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna go with what do you want to score to?
Speaker 1: Just Packers. I'm gonna go with the Packers, okay, um,
Speaker 1: And then I'm gonna go I mean, well, we don't
Speaker 1: really know what's gonna happen. I'm gonna go with the Chiefs.
Speaker 1: I want the Bills to win, though I want I
Speaker 1: don't want to be right about that game and just
Speaker 1: pick up to just pick the opposite, pick what you want,
Speaker 1: you know, why not go with your heart? Yeah, I'm
Speaker 1: in it to win it. There's no prize on this
Speaker 1: game of Greg buried in that little notebook that you
Speaker 1: use with you right with your Japanese pen. Anything you
Speaker 1: want to empty app before we say goodbye? Yeah, yes,
Speaker 1: if Greg doesn't have one, yes, and I have a
Speaker 1: final but I want to and then a last question
Speaker 1: for okay and mine will be quick. But I was
Speaker 1: surprised that the Bucks offensive line held up as well
Speaker 1: as they did last week against the Saints pass rush,
Speaker 1: considering they were down Alex Cappa and they were bringing
Speaker 1: in Aaron Stinny at guard for his first NFL start ever,
Speaker 1: and they did. They did a really good job. So
Speaker 1: I'm wondering how they're gonna match up with the Packers
Speaker 1: pass rush considering they went off on golf. They sacked
Speaker 1: him four times last week. Kenny Clark was constantly in
Speaker 1: the backfield or Shawn Gary is getting better and better.
Speaker 1: So that could be a matchup to watch that That
Speaker 1: was kind of mine how about that? I mean, I'm
Speaker 1: with you, like I think the two the two lines
Speaker 1: should dominate. Um, they're better. But I think if if
Speaker 1: something that could prove everything I just said about like
Speaker 1: the Brady wrong is if Rashaan Gary and Zadarius Smith
Speaker 1: go have a game that's where their difference makers are,
Speaker 1: like the two of them, Gary is playing really well
Speaker 1: and Kenny Clark altogether. If they could win that matchup,
Speaker 1: then it kind of blows up everything I said. They're
Speaker 1: there the chance for the Packers defense right there. Connie.
Speaker 1: You know sometimes they try to put you in the
Speaker 1: box and I feel that way sometime as well. If
Speaker 1: you're the host and it's like, well you're not allowed
Speaker 1: to have taeks are like study things in a different
Speaker 1: way and share those. But that's what you just proved. Yes,
Speaker 1: you're a host and gifted, but your ability to analyze
Speaker 1: the sport and offer takes, I mean, thank you you
Speaker 1: can just you can keep the compliments coming. I'm if
Speaker 1: you're not done yet, that's fine before before you go, Um,
Speaker 1: I teased it at the top of our conversation. Um,
Speaker 1: let's go back to Ancient Rome. Market like your take
Speaker 1: on this if you have one as well, Um, you
Speaker 1: know it, and Greg, that's how we do it. You're included.
Speaker 1: Whenever swords, shields, Sandals battle Ancient Rome kind of you're
Speaker 1: actually the emperor. You're the one that does the thumbs
Speaker 1: up thumbs down to decide whether the loser, the vanquished
Speaker 1: party lives or dies. So I want to hear I
Speaker 1: guess your take on that as well. But Aaron Rodgers
Speaker 1: against Tom Brady and a swords, shields and Scandals clash,
Speaker 1: who wins? That's so much power? Really, you're gonna go
Speaker 1: with Brady? I you yeah, why would you go with Brady? Um?
Speaker 1: I think Brady, like, you know, for for all the
Speaker 1: people that like to make fun of Tom Brady and uh,
Speaker 1: you know the food he eats and all this other business. Um,
Speaker 1: I think there's something inside a Brady that is like
Speaker 1: will will destroy anyone that gets in his way. And
Speaker 1: I think this season is um has a lot to
Speaker 1: do with that. I think Aaron Rodgers might be UM.
Speaker 1: I think he's you know, a warrior type player too,
Speaker 1: but it's a little bit different. I think that Brady
Speaker 1: um is an assassin, and I see him that way.
Speaker 1: Does Brady have the ability if we're in ancient Rome, though,
Speaker 1: does he have access to like seaweed smoothies and things
Speaker 1: like that? Well, how about like literally no foods that
Speaker 1: exists with like ridiculous additives and food color. Yeah, he
Speaker 1: might like it, like everyone else would be freaking out.
Speaker 1: I think Aaron Rodgers wins because he's more nimble and
Speaker 1: it's not just about power, uh in that in the
Speaker 1: in that arena, have Colleen, I haven't heard your answer yet.
Speaker 1: I'm I'm going with Rogers too. I think Brady would
Speaker 1: recover faster from the whole match, but I think Gary Rogers.
Speaker 1: I don't know why. Aaron Rodgers just feels like he
Speaker 1: could maybe out patient Brady in their duel, like he's
Speaker 1: very I don't know. They're both so calm and like
Speaker 1: steely eyes. So I would like to see it, but
Speaker 1: I don't know. I would go with Rogers, right, that's
Speaker 1: survivor slogan, outwit outlast, right, I'm with I'm with Mark
Speaker 1: about Mark. I mean, Brady kind of having that cold
Speaker 1: blooded nature to him, but it's not like Rogers is
Speaker 1: far behind there. I mean he's he's pretty pathological too,
Speaker 1: and so the athleticism, I think is what does it.
Speaker 1: I'm with Dan, the the age difference. I'd happily lock
Speaker 1: it up, I will. I will say that Rogers. I
Speaker 1: shouldn't unlock it up Rogers as a non competitor here,
Speaker 1: because he seems willing to strip himself of anything on
Speaker 1: some level if you look at his choices in his history,
Speaker 1: so too dangerous um fighter. Little Olivia Lunn called back there.
Speaker 1: I believe. Hey, um, Connie, finally you're the emperor. Whoever
Speaker 1: loses live or die. It's it. That's it for you.
Speaker 1: You're gonna give me. You're gonna give me that power. Um,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna use it. Otherwise it's gonna be used on me,
Speaker 1: you know. All right, Well, there you have it. She
Speaker 1: is as cold blood as he gets. Colleen Wolf and yes,
Speaker 1: to make sure you check her out on NFL network.
Speaker 1: You're all over the place, Connie. I know if you
Speaker 1: have any plug you want to throw in before you
Speaker 1: say goodbye, but you know where to find Connie on
Speaker 1: the dial. She's a star. Good morning Football weekend every Saturday.
Speaker 1: Check it out there it is there, she goes, thank you, Connie,
Speaker 1: You're welcome. Bonnie Fox leaves us and we now uh
Speaker 1: edge toward the weekend and championship weekend. How fun? Two
Speaker 1: games left? Only three games left in the entire season. Mark,
Speaker 1: I know it's UM, it's been a it's been an
Speaker 1: endurance test. But let's than years past. I think this
Speaker 1: is where it is sad. You know, you're normally before
Speaker 1: games left, we'd have the big Pro Bowl. Actually we're
Speaker 1: usually like traveling that day, but we're really yeah, but
Speaker 1: I mean we'd watch it later. We'd tape it and
Speaker 1: definitely watch it as a group. In past years, it
Speaker 1: would work out like this. We would be flying into
Speaker 1: the super Bowl city while the Pro Bowl is played,
Speaker 1: and then you you check in, and then you go
Speaker 1: down to the hotel bar and you see either the
Speaker 1: games in the third or fourth quarter, or you see
Speaker 1: the highlights, and you have a couple of drinks with
Speaker 1: some friends and you catch up and and life's good.
Speaker 1: I guess maybe the way to look at it positively
Speaker 1: is when it happens, When that setup happens a year
Speaker 1: from now, we'll just appreciate it more. I'm trying to
Speaker 1: like spin as in this new era for America. UM,
Speaker 1: I'm trying to now say I understand how things are
Speaker 1: right now, but things can get better, and there's a
Speaker 1: good chance that they will get better. And I believe
Speaker 1: in that um on a lot of levels, including with
Speaker 1: our friend Chris Westley. I'm with you, we are we
Speaker 1: join you in that hope. All right, good stuff, all right.
Speaker 1: We'll be back Friday tomorrow on the NFL Network ourselves
Speaker 1: with the Around the NFL Show. Make sure you check
Speaker 1: that out six pm Eastern, three pm Pacific, and then
Speaker 1: of course the Flagship Program where we recap and talk
Speaker 1: about the two Super Bowl teams and the vanquished parties
Speaker 1: that Colleen will cold bloodedly send to the death chamber,
Speaker 1: uh if she has her way. And if you are overseas,
Speaker 1: we will be involved with the Sky Sports coverage of
Speaker 1: Championship Weekend on Sunday, So make sure you check that out,
Speaker 1: all right? Anything else? Boys, I think that's it. I
Speaker 1: think this is a good one. Let's go, as they say.
Speaker 1: Thanks to Bill, Yes, thanks for Bill Barnwell, Thank you
Speaker 1: to County Boxes and Dan Hanson signing off for Guidet Storm,
Speaker 1: the Old Boss, Ricky Hollywood behind the Virtual Glass, U
Speaker 1: T S. Night