WEBVTT - Week 12, Episode 1: Rams have multiple problems, Buccaneers veterans, Colts just above average, Cowboys defensive issues 0:00:04.480 --> 0:00:07.320 Down the stretch, we go on taped Spoble Shoes and 0:00:07.400 --> 0:00:09.879 Dan Orlovsky Scott Pioli set for a new week to 0:00:09.920 --> 0:00:12.480 talk NFL football again. We crawled behind the xs and 0:00:12.480 --> 0:00:15.920 os on this podcast and bring you the nerd side 0:00:15.920 --> 0:00:17.639 of the game that we enjoy the most. And of 0:00:17.680 --> 0:00:20.160 course always at the tellustrator when you catch him on 0:00:20.280 --> 0:00:23.800 NFL Live and alongside me as well college football on ESPN. 0:00:23.880 --> 0:00:27.320 Scott Pioli, of course, longtime general manager in the National 0:00:27.360 --> 0:00:30.800 Football League, and he brings that personnel expertise that we love, 0:00:31.360 --> 0:00:35.800 roster building expertise, and guys, the roster has changed certainly 0:00:35.840 --> 0:00:37.640 for the Rams, and that's where we're gonna begin this 0:00:37.680 --> 0:00:41.479 episode because that was a tough one against the Packers. 0:00:41.520 --> 0:00:44.760 Here was the reaction of Matthew Stafford after yet another 0:00:44.880 --> 0:00:47.720 hard fought loss. Um, I've had some tough stretches in 0:00:47.760 --> 0:00:49.599 my career. There's no question. Play this game long enough, 0:00:49.640 --> 0:00:52.320 it'll humble you, you know, and and um, you know, 0:00:52.400 --> 0:00:54.120 I uh put a lot of hard work into this. 0:00:54.160 --> 0:00:55.560 As to all the guys in that locker room, as 0:00:55.600 --> 0:00:58.080 to all of our coaches, Um, is it disappointing when 0:00:58.080 --> 0:01:00.840 it comes when you come out and and uh, you 0:01:00.880 --> 0:01:02.680 know play like that. Absolutely. You know there were some 0:01:02.720 --> 0:01:04.240 good things, but too many bad things for us to 0:01:04.280 --> 0:01:06.200 have a chance to be a good team like Green Bay. 0:01:06.240 --> 0:01:07.840 And there's no question if you're going to beat a 0:01:07.880 --> 0:01:09.679 team on the road like the Green Bay Packers, you 0:01:09.720 --> 0:01:12.400 have to be better than the Rams were. Their roster 0:01:12.480 --> 0:01:15.640 has changed, right, like Robert Woods being gone, Odell Beckham 0:01:15.720 --> 0:01:18.760 coming in. I guess there might be an adjustment period. 0:01:19.200 --> 0:01:21.640 Having said that, though, what are you guys seeing That's 0:01:21.720 --> 0:01:24.680 just not clicking because the first I guess, you know, 0:01:24.840 --> 0:01:26.360 seven or eight games of the season, we were talking 0:01:26.360 --> 0:01:28.880 about Matthew Stafford being that m VP candidate. We thought 0:01:28.880 --> 0:01:31.040 he might be at the beginning of the year. But Scott, 0:01:31.080 --> 0:01:33.520 you made this point. Look at their schedule, right, they 0:01:33.520 --> 0:01:35.760 had a four game stretch there where they were playing 0:01:36.280 --> 0:01:38.800 kind of the bottom feeders of the NFL. Maybe that 0:01:39.160 --> 0:01:41.480 tilted our opinion of the Rams a bit. Is this 0:01:41.560 --> 0:01:43.959 a team that we have a good field for yet? 0:01:43.959 --> 0:01:46.240 Are we still searching for who the Rams are? Scott 0:01:46.280 --> 0:01:48.240 and ken be as we go down the stretch? I 0:01:48.280 --> 0:01:50.560 think we're still searching. And and I do go back 0:01:50.560 --> 0:01:52.559 to what I said earlier in the season. They started 0:01:52.600 --> 0:01:57.040 out seven and one, and they were playing competition. Again, 0:01:57.080 --> 0:01:58.880 not their fault, they can only play the teams that 0:01:58.880 --> 0:02:02.560 are on the schedule. But they were looking, um, you know, 0:02:02.600 --> 0:02:05.480 they were beating teams that were not very good football teams. 0:02:05.520 --> 0:02:08.320 I mean, that's just the reality. They were football teams 0:02:08.320 --> 0:02:10.880 that were not good teams at that point in the season. 0:02:11.360 --> 0:02:13.760 And then we get to the the end of October 0:02:13.800 --> 0:02:17.600 in the beginning of November and they add two players. 0:02:17.720 --> 0:02:19.799 You know, once again they go out and get players 0:02:19.880 --> 0:02:24.239 with star power name names, and you know, Von Miller 0:02:25.320 --> 0:02:27.880 thirty three, I want to say, the thirty three year 0:02:27.919 --> 0:02:35.040 old defensive end slash pass rusher, and Odell Beckham. And 0:02:35.800 --> 0:02:38.040 you know, since they've added those three players, they've lost 0:02:38.040 --> 0:02:40.600 three straight games. I'm not saying that those players are 0:02:40.639 --> 0:02:46.040 the reason, but this is reminiscent of free agency in 0:02:46.080 --> 0:02:48.160 the off season, where teams go out and spend a 0:02:48.200 --> 0:02:51.639 lot of money on star power names. They're selling jerseys, 0:02:51.680 --> 0:02:55.280 they're selling sizzle, They're not giving much substance. And to me, 0:02:55.400 --> 0:02:57.120 I was concerned that this was a team that was 0:02:57.160 --> 0:02:59.840 seven and one, they hadn't beat anyone that was really good. 0:03:00.080 --> 0:03:02.680 Then they started playing some good teams and they've been 0:03:02.720 --> 0:03:06.080 owing three and one thing that has changes is the roster, 0:03:06.639 --> 0:03:10.880 not only the addition of those two players, but the 0:03:10.919 --> 0:03:14.160 absence of Robert Woods, who's a very very important part 0:03:14.400 --> 0:03:17.959 of their offense. And to me, they just don't look 0:03:18.000 --> 0:03:20.760 in sync. There's nothing about their game on either side 0:03:20.800 --> 0:03:23.560 of the ball that looks in sync, you know. And 0:03:23.600 --> 0:03:26.520 then you also have to understand in the middle of 0:03:26.520 --> 0:03:29.200 the season, and I remember this from my early time 0:03:29.639 --> 0:03:33.040 with the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League, where 0:03:33.040 --> 0:03:37.240 we were constantly churning the roster and bringing in new 0:03:37.280 --> 0:03:40.040 players and telling players, Okay, this is what we're gonna do. 0:03:40.080 --> 0:03:43.840 If you're in, we're in. And players do what they 0:03:43.920 --> 0:03:45.840 need to do and do what they're supposed to do 0:03:45.920 --> 0:03:49.640 there on the roster. Yet there's this wandering eye from 0:03:49.680 --> 0:03:52.480 the rest of the organization trying to bring in other 0:03:52.680 --> 0:03:57.600 players that again, um, how good are they? How committed 0:03:57.640 --> 0:03:59.480 are they? And I'm not saying that that either one 0:03:59.480 --> 0:04:01.440 of these players are not committed, but it does have 0:04:01.520 --> 0:04:04.560 this trickle down effect within a team. Again, I still 0:04:04.680 --> 0:04:07.560 always go back to the whole idea that you know, 0:04:07.840 --> 0:04:10.120 we're we're in the team building business. Right. We're not 0:04:10.200 --> 0:04:12.840 trying to see how many Fantasy football points we can 0:04:13.120 --> 0:04:15.400 we can gather. We're not looking to see how many 0:04:15.400 --> 0:04:18.159 guys make the Pro Bowls, right, Because individuals make Pro Bowls. 0:04:18.480 --> 0:04:21.599 Teams win championships, and you're trying to get the best 0:04:21.720 --> 0:04:24.800 fifty three players on your team that are the right 0:04:24.960 --> 0:04:27.720 fifty three players on your team in order to win championships. 0:04:28.040 --> 0:04:31.400 Well said, you know, speaking to just kind of what 0:04:31.560 --> 0:04:33.240 happened on the field, and this has kind of been 0:04:33.240 --> 0:04:37.480 a couple of week transition or evolution for the Rams. 0:04:37.520 --> 0:04:42.560 I think offensively, there's a lack of um. There. There 0:04:42.600 --> 0:04:45.040 is an ego issue going on with their offense. I 0:04:45.080 --> 0:04:48.960 think that if you watch this game early on, you know, 0:04:49.000 --> 0:04:51.440 they decided to put Matthew under the center, and they 0:04:51.520 --> 0:04:52.760 ran the ball a little bit, and then there were 0:04:52.800 --> 0:04:55.160 some play action. They actually come out in their second series, 0:04:55.200 --> 0:04:57.280 they go down seven nothing, and they come out in 0:04:57.320 --> 0:04:59.120 their second or third series and they run the ball 0:04:59.160 --> 0:05:01.720 in first down, they get five yards, they get to 0:05:01.800 --> 0:05:04.560 second and five, and the next snap is out of empty. 0:05:04.600 --> 0:05:07.240 And now I've talked extensively over the past three or 0:05:07.240 --> 0:05:09.760 four weeks about this offense, and they're empty personnel, the 0:05:09.800 --> 0:05:13.960 five man protection, second and five empty and it's a 0:05:14.000 --> 0:05:17.640 sack fumble and the left tackle and left guard got 0:05:17.720 --> 0:05:22.040 absolutely beat. And I'm sitting there going why Sean Sean mcfaith, 0:05:22.040 --> 0:05:25.279 their head coach, Why after a first down run first 0:05:25.279 --> 0:05:28.480 and five are we getting into empty when you're playing 0:05:28.560 --> 0:05:31.520 on the road against a defensive line for Green Bay 0:05:31.520 --> 0:05:34.320 that's been playing good. Why are you going to the 0:05:34.360 --> 0:05:37.080 one area where you in the last three weeks have 0:05:37.160 --> 0:05:40.640 fallen apart in and that's the interior of their offensive 0:05:40.680 --> 0:05:43.680 line in empty protection, and all of a sudden, the 0:05:43.720 --> 0:05:45.800 game flips upside down. You know, Bob, you know I 0:05:46.080 --> 0:05:47.640 love golf. Scott. I don't know if you do, but 0:05:47.800 --> 0:05:50.120 you know there's that saying for golfers when they enter 0:05:50.120 --> 0:05:52.279 a tournament, you can't win the tournament on Thursday, but 0:05:52.320 --> 0:05:54.719 you can lose it. And I feel that's exactly what 0:05:54.760 --> 0:05:57.040 has happened over the first or the last three weeks. 0:05:57.240 --> 0:05:59.960 In the first quarter for the Rams. They're losing game 0:06:00.000 --> 0:06:05.080 teams by this self inflicted, almost hardheaded style of football. 0:06:05.080 --> 0:06:09.279 And I think offensively right now, they're so dependent on 0:06:09.320 --> 0:06:12.560 the big play. They're so dependent on Okay, how many 0:06:12.640 --> 0:06:15.640 let's let's let's let's force these big plays to happen. 0:06:16.000 --> 0:06:17.920 And we're in an era right now in the NFL 0:06:17.960 --> 0:06:20.920 where that that's you know, teams aren't really allowing for 0:06:21.000 --> 0:06:23.280 much of that and they can't drive the field. They 0:06:23.600 --> 0:06:27.400 refused to be methodical in Green Bay defensively did not 0:06:27.480 --> 0:06:31.159 blitz Matthew in this offense and basically said, we, as 0:06:31.160 --> 0:06:34.280 a defense, are gonna challenge you, Sean McVeigh, that you 0:06:34.440 --> 0:06:38.680 used to be one of the best run game coordinators, design, 0:06:38.920 --> 0:06:42.120 run design, play guy in the NFL. We're gonna challenge 0:06:42.120 --> 0:06:45.599 you to do that. And he refused to and Matthew 0:06:45.600 --> 0:06:47.880 played good. He wasn't brought there to play good. He 0:06:47.920 --> 0:06:50.000 was brought there to play great. And I just feel 0:06:50.120 --> 0:06:52.520 right now, on offense, it's this ego thing to go 0:06:52.640 --> 0:06:55.200 not We're not gonna do kind of what we need 0:06:55.240 --> 0:06:57.839 to do to have success on offense. We're gonna force 0:06:57.920 --> 0:07:01.000 this issue. We're gonna force this square peg into the 0:07:01.160 --> 0:07:04.160 round hole, and it's really hurting their football team. And 0:07:04.279 --> 0:07:06.440 I'll remain adamant. I think they need to put the 0:07:06.480 --> 0:07:09.560 quarterback under center more. I think they need to stay 0:07:09.760 --> 0:07:12.880 get back to their motion offense, get back to marrying 0:07:13.000 --> 0:07:16.600 plays that look the same, so that causes the confusion 0:07:16.680 --> 0:07:19.400 for the defense. Get back to that play action game 0:07:19.480 --> 0:07:21.200 that looks like the run that you called them the 0:07:21.200 --> 0:07:23.040 third play of the game, and now we're gonna bootleg 0:07:23.080 --> 0:07:24.600 off of it and it looks the same. They're not 0:07:24.640 --> 0:07:27.360 doing that anymore. And then I'll think on defense, I 0:07:27.400 --> 0:07:30.440 would say two things, and I'm I'm not being disrespectful here. 0:07:30.800 --> 0:07:35.239 I think defensively they're dumb, and I think defensively they're soft. 0:07:36.080 --> 0:07:39.440 They had three times on third and three or less. 0:07:39.840 --> 0:07:42.000 And most people who follow football know that as a 0:07:42.080 --> 0:07:45.560 man down man coverage third and three or less. Three 0:07:45.600 --> 0:07:49.920 times Jalen Ramsey covered the tight ends for Green Bay 0:07:50.120 --> 0:07:54.720 and not Davante Adams in man coverage. That's not smart football. 0:07:55.440 --> 0:07:58.760 And then when I say they're soft, I'm not challenging 0:07:58.800 --> 0:08:04.000 their manhood. I'm challenging they give you so many free completions. 0:08:04.480 --> 0:08:08.160 There's no physicality at the line of scrimmage to challenge 0:08:08.200 --> 0:08:11.560 receivers and not get All green Bay did was called 0:08:11.640 --> 0:08:13.880 quick game, quick game, quick game. And all Aaron did 0:08:13.880 --> 0:08:15.920 was operated get the ball out quick. They minimize the 0:08:15.960 --> 0:08:18.760 pass rush and they got the ball out quickly, and 0:08:18.880 --> 0:08:22.679 the Rams defensively never got in the face of Green 0:08:22.720 --> 0:08:26.080 Bay and tried to challenge. You can play zone coverage 0:08:26.120 --> 0:08:28.520 and be physical at the line of scrimmage, and I 0:08:28.560 --> 0:08:31.680 think those are two things defensively that they gotta figure 0:08:31.680 --> 0:08:35.240 out real quickly here, because if you're gonna play that soft, 0:08:35.760 --> 0:08:37.640 your pass rush and all those pieces you got on 0:08:37.679 --> 0:08:40.439 your defensive line won't matter a scott. Can we quickly 0:08:40.440 --> 0:08:42.440 flip it over to the Packers though, I mean, obviously 0:08:42.480 --> 0:08:44.920 we want to talk about the Rams and their deficiencies, 0:08:45.400 --> 0:08:47.079 and everybody just you know, you talk about the Packers, 0:08:47.120 --> 0:08:49.120 it's all Aaron Rodgers all the time. I mean, to 0:08:49.200 --> 0:08:51.480 beat a team like that at home, and to beat 0:08:51.520 --> 0:08:53.760 them thoroughly and they did, you gotta be a pretty 0:08:53.760 --> 0:08:55.800 good football team yourself. So what did you see out 0:08:55.840 --> 0:08:57.880 of Green Bay? You know, there were two plays in 0:08:57.920 --> 0:09:01.400 the third quarter that stood out to me, and uh 0:09:01.800 --> 0:09:05.400 one was the fourth and two in the third quarter, 0:09:06.000 --> 0:09:08.600 just prior to the touchdown, not the touchdown it self, 0:09:08.679 --> 0:09:12.720 but it's fourth and two. Aaron Rodgers drops back, he 0:09:12.960 --> 0:09:18.160 looks off and is staring down to his right right, 0:09:18.440 --> 0:09:20.680 and then a little bit in the middle and then 0:09:20.720 --> 0:09:24.800 all of a sudden turns and makes it throw, makes 0:09:24.840 --> 0:09:28.160 the completion that allows them to stay on the field 0:09:28.200 --> 0:09:30.560 and get the touchdown. It was a brilliant play. It 0:09:30.679 --> 0:09:35.320 was it was classic Aaron Rodgers. But what was happening 0:09:35.320 --> 0:09:38.000 there at that moment, in my opinion, I was just 0:09:38.040 --> 0:09:41.480 watching a Packers team that had this energy that the 0:09:41.600 --> 0:09:46.440 Rams did not have. And it was even more underscored 0:09:46.480 --> 0:09:49.160 a little bit later, when there's three minutes left in 0:09:49.160 --> 0:09:51.480 the third quarter, again another play, offensive play in the 0:09:51.520 --> 0:09:55.520 third quarter, and they run the screenplay. There's a screen 0:09:56.000 --> 0:09:58.480 and the ball is fumbled and and again if you 0:09:58.520 --> 0:10:02.240 watch the game, what happened was there was immediately too 0:10:02.400 --> 0:10:07.360 offensive linemen on the field hustling their butts off, get 0:10:07.400 --> 0:10:10.560 on the ball, recover it. Just because the offensive linemen 0:10:10.559 --> 0:10:12.360 are chasing the play. It was a screen, but the 0:10:12.360 --> 0:10:14.040 back was out in front of the screen, so these 0:10:14.040 --> 0:10:18.640 were the players behind the screen itself, and they end 0:10:18.720 --> 0:10:20.920 up recovering the ball. They get a field goal out 0:10:20.920 --> 0:10:23.440 of that. So two big plays in the third quarter 0:10:23.480 --> 0:10:26.360 with energy out of the Packers. It was so positive, 0:10:26.400 --> 0:10:29.800 that was so authentic, That was so real to me. 0:10:30.240 --> 0:10:32.840 That was one of the other things. And again not saying, 0:10:33.920 --> 0:10:35.560 you know, similar to what you were saying, did not 0:10:35.559 --> 0:10:38.400 saying that the Rams weren't playing hard, but they weren't 0:10:38.480 --> 0:10:41.800 playing to the level of the Packers, in my opinion, 0:10:41.920 --> 0:10:46.360 in the cold outdoors, and it just like looked like 0:10:46.400 --> 0:10:49.080 two teams that were that were approaching the game differently. 0:10:49.160 --> 0:10:51.080 And you know, I just want to fallow one other 0:10:51.240 --> 0:10:53.440 thing that you said, Dan, I thought was really important 0:10:53.480 --> 0:10:58.080 about the Rams offense was the protection. Andrew Whitworth has 0:10:58.120 --> 0:11:01.160 been a very good football player in National Football League. 0:11:01.400 --> 0:11:03.760 He's about to turn forty years old and still playing 0:11:03.840 --> 0:11:06.960 left tackle, and he had a couple of issues the 0:11:07.000 --> 0:11:09.840 other day and they were real issues, you know, whether 0:11:09.840 --> 0:11:12.400 it was calls for holding or just not being able 0:11:12.440 --> 0:11:14.640 to block them and not having enough leading his pencil. 0:11:15.280 --> 0:11:18.559 So to me, there are some real things that are 0:11:18.600 --> 0:11:22.320 going on in that Rams offense. To Dan's point about, 0:11:22.760 --> 0:11:25.400 you know, if we can't run it, let's not run it, guys. Yeah, 0:11:25.600 --> 0:11:28.000 it's just when I watched the game, I think the 0:11:28.080 --> 0:11:32.080 overwhelming theme for me was while one team is very 0:11:32.200 --> 0:11:35.600 much so playing to their strengths and not to their weaknesses, 0:11:36.400 --> 0:11:39.160 and one team constantly leans into their weakness and not 0:11:39.280 --> 0:11:42.640 their strength, and it's so shocking for me to watch 0:11:42.679 --> 0:11:45.240 that play out for the Rams. If you watch Green 0:11:45.280 --> 0:11:48.040 Bay's offense, I'll touch on that quickly. I mentioned the 0:11:48.160 --> 0:11:50.120 quick game. Right when I say quick game, I'm saying 0:11:50.160 --> 0:11:52.240 Aaron Rodgers is catching the ball and trying to get 0:11:52.240 --> 0:11:56.320 it out really in less than three steps. So we're 0:11:56.360 --> 0:12:00.160 thinking two seconds of quarterback time right here. Nine times 0:12:00.720 --> 0:12:04.040 nine times they called quick game. He went eight for nine. 0:12:04.480 --> 0:12:07.680 So when you're doing that, Number one, I'm taking away 0:12:07.679 --> 0:12:10.320 Aaron Donald and Leonard Floyd and Von Miller. You guys 0:12:10.360 --> 0:12:14.240 don't matter to me. Number two, I'm keeping myself in rhythm. 0:12:14.440 --> 0:12:17.080 That catch and throw is is I'm catching and throwing 0:12:17.120 --> 0:12:20.040 to a time where now we're we are staying quote 0:12:20.080 --> 0:12:23.560 unquote ahead of the chains, were staying balanced in our rhythm. 0:12:23.559 --> 0:12:27.000 As an offense, I can be an ideal play call situations, 0:12:27.360 --> 0:12:32.079 and then A J. Dillon eight times eight carries first quarter, 0:12:32.120 --> 0:12:35.720 seven twelve, first quarter, six thirty two, third quarter. I 0:12:35.720 --> 0:12:38.920 can go on and on. He gets a handoff and 0:12:38.960 --> 0:12:42.360 he gets hit at or at one yard game of 0:12:42.400 --> 0:12:46.959 the line of scrimmage. All eight times he falls forward 0:12:47.040 --> 0:12:49.640 for more than four yards. Sometimes it was eight or 0:12:49.720 --> 0:12:53.640 nine yards. So his ability to get hit at the 0:12:53.679 --> 0:12:57.280 line of scrimmage, so to speak, and churn out positive 0:12:57.360 --> 0:13:01.360 yards is such a difference aker for this offense. I 0:13:01.400 --> 0:13:05.280 think it's an identity changer, a reliable aspect for this 0:13:05.400 --> 0:13:07.719 offense in Green Bay. And for Sean McVeigh, there was 0:13:07.760 --> 0:13:09.600 a time where if you passed him in the hallway 0:13:09.679 --> 0:13:11.120 on your way to get a cup of coffee, you 0:13:11.200 --> 0:13:13.800 got a head coaching interview, right Like I mean, his 0:13:13.800 --> 0:13:16.280 his coaching tree was just if you were in his 0:13:16.480 --> 0:13:19.520 orbit for five minutes. I'm watching this game and again, 0:13:19.559 --> 0:13:21.600 this is my department. Three minutes to go in the game, 0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:23.840 you're down eleven. I don't think they had any time outs. 0:13:23.880 --> 0:13:25.760 If they had any time outs, they had one. They 0:13:25.800 --> 0:13:28.320 took it all the way down to fifty seconds to 0:13:28.320 --> 0:13:30.640 go on the game on third and one in field 0:13:30.640 --> 0:13:33.320 goal range and ran the ball and took the clock 0:13:33.360 --> 0:13:35.160 down to like twenty seconds to go and kick the 0:13:35.160 --> 0:13:37.800 field goal. What are you doing right, Like, you you 0:13:38.000 --> 0:13:40.840 need two scores. You need to score. You need to 0:13:40.880 --> 0:13:42.439 have enough time in the back end of your first 0:13:42.440 --> 0:13:44.280 score to get an onside kick and have a chance 0:13:44.320 --> 0:13:46.560 to get a second score. And again this is supposed 0:13:46.600 --> 0:13:49.080 to be the most brilliant offensive mind in the history 0:13:49.080 --> 0:13:52.040 of football, and he can't figure out that you have 0:13:52.160 --> 0:13:56.080 to allow yourself enough time on the back end. Again, Teams, 0:13:56.200 --> 0:13:59.839 for some reason in that down eleven under two minutes 0:13:59.880 --> 0:14:04.360 to oh scenario, always obsess over getting the touchdown, first, 0:14:04.840 --> 0:14:08.520 kick the field goal first. Leave yourself enough time that 0:14:08.600 --> 0:14:10.520 if you're able to get the on side kick, at 0:14:10.559 --> 0:14:13.520 least you've got a prayer who cares. If he who cares. 0:14:13.559 --> 0:14:15.320 If you get a first down on third and one 0:14:15.880 --> 0:14:18.200 with fifty seconds to go in the game, then the 0:14:18.240 --> 0:14:19.960 next ball either has to go in the end zone 0:14:20.040 --> 0:14:21.640 or you kick the field goal of a minute left 0:14:21.960 --> 0:14:24.960 one way or the other. Give yourself enough time. Again, 0:14:25.000 --> 0:14:26.840 that just drove me ban at us. But all right, 0:14:27.000 --> 0:14:29.360 we'll move on. We will get to a big win 0:14:29.480 --> 0:14:32.120 for the Bucks over the Colts when we come back, 0:14:32.160 --> 0:14:34.680 because that is something that I think was kind of 0:14:34.680 --> 0:14:36.600 a litmus test for Tom Brady. I'm gonna get the 0:14:36.680 --> 0:14:39.360 breakdown of the guys, Bucks Colts. We come back on Tapeds, 0:14:43.640 --> 0:14:46.920 Welcome back to Tap pens, Boba Shoes, Scottioli, dan Orlovsky. 0:14:47.000 --> 0:14:50.320 All right, a big one Bucks Colts, Tom Brady as 0:14:50.360 --> 0:14:52.840 normally as the case, finds a way against a good 0:14:52.840 --> 0:14:55.800 football teams. But Frank Reich had to say after the 0:14:55.800 --> 0:14:58.040 Colts loss, Yeah, very frustrated. You know when you're going 0:14:58.080 --> 0:15:00.200 up against that good of a team. Uh, and you 0:15:00.280 --> 0:15:02.040 really got a chance, and you know, you feel like 0:15:02.080 --> 0:15:05.840 if we don't beat ourselves, and they were playing based 0:15:05.880 --> 0:15:08.520 defense against our sub offense a little bit too so 0:15:09.240 --> 0:15:11.600 trying to force us into throwing it a little bit more. 0:15:12.160 --> 0:15:15.600 But ultimately, when you make when you make that many 0:15:15.600 --> 0:15:17.600 mistakes against good football team, it's gonna come back and 0:15:17.640 --> 0:15:19.800 haunch you. Well, it is a good football team. Maybe 0:15:19.800 --> 0:15:22.440 they did beat themselves. And Scott, you lived this life 0:15:22.480 --> 0:15:24.800 with Tom Brady at quarterback and Bill Belichick is the 0:15:24.800 --> 0:15:27.520 head coach. Right. You've said this over and over again 0:15:27.800 --> 0:15:31.240 when we've crawled inside games on this podcast, whether it's 0:15:31.280 --> 0:15:33.440 going back to your Patriot days or watching the Bucks 0:15:33.480 --> 0:15:37.360 now with Tom Brady. Oftentimes teams will find a way 0:15:37.520 --> 0:15:39.640 to give you the game and make mistakes that you 0:15:39.640 --> 0:15:42.680 can capitalize on. The necessarily, maybe you have to go 0:15:42.720 --> 0:15:45.480 out and win it. Did you see that as the 0:15:45.480 --> 0:15:47.200 case this past week with this win for the Bucks 0:15:47.240 --> 0:15:50.400 over the Colts, I don't know who was necessarily one 0:15:50.840 --> 0:15:54.480 particularly one or two particular plays. I think a couple 0:15:54.520 --> 0:15:56.440 of things I saw. I'll just talk about the Colts 0:15:56.440 --> 0:15:59.280 side real quick. I just I was expecting so much 0:15:59.280 --> 0:16:03.040 more out of the running game in this this weekend 0:16:03.080 --> 0:16:06.160 out of the Indianapolis Colts didn't get it, didn't see 0:16:06.160 --> 0:16:10.080 it um, They couldn't get it established, and they I 0:16:10.160 --> 0:16:14.880 felt like they didn't try to establish it um strongly 0:16:15.000 --> 0:16:17.240 enough because again, I just don't think that Carson Wentz 0:16:17.280 --> 0:16:19.560 is going to go out and win a game UM 0:16:19.680 --> 0:16:22.280 against a very good football team all on his own. 0:16:22.640 --> 0:16:26.960 Flip side talking about, you know, the Buccaneers, here's one 0:16:26.960 --> 0:16:28.240 of the things. You know, one of the things I 0:16:28.240 --> 0:16:32.040 said also earlier in the year was that when in 0:16:32.160 --> 0:16:34.880 order for the Bucks to have a chance to repeat, 0:16:34.920 --> 0:16:36.680 they can't be the same team. They've got to be 0:16:36.680 --> 0:16:39.160 a better football team. And I've been looking for signs 0:16:39.160 --> 0:16:41.480 of players, Okay, who's gonna step up and who's going 0:16:41.520 --> 0:16:43.840 to be better than they wore last year. Who's gonna 0:16:43.880 --> 0:16:46.400 make the Buccaneers better. You know, they've dealt with a 0:16:46.440 --> 0:16:49.160 few injury situations, and the guy that I see steadily 0:16:49.240 --> 0:16:52.640 picking up and becoming a better football player is Leonard 0:16:52.640 --> 0:16:56.000 for Nette, who was really helping their offense. And you know, 0:16:56.120 --> 0:16:58.720 a lot of the talk after the game, surprisingly to me, 0:16:58.880 --> 0:17:01.640 was all about this great speech that he apparently gave 0:17:01.640 --> 0:17:05.000 in the locker room at halftime. But more than words, 0:17:05.640 --> 0:17:07.919 it was his play and it is his play, you know, 0:17:08.080 --> 0:17:11.160 Leonard Fournett. He's been known as what as as playoff Lenny, 0:17:11.280 --> 0:17:14.480 right or Lombardi Lenny, where he only shows up in 0:17:14.480 --> 0:17:17.120 the playoffs. His rookie year with the Jacksonville Jaguars, when 0:17:17.119 --> 0:17:20.000 the Jaguars made that run towards the a f C Championship, 0:17:20.240 --> 0:17:22.639 he played better in the playoffs than he did in 0:17:22.680 --> 0:17:25.760 the regular season. Last year with the Buccaneers, you know, 0:17:25.840 --> 0:17:27.639 he was on the verge of being released until the 0:17:27.640 --> 0:17:31.200 playoffs showed up and then he started performing really well. 0:17:31.600 --> 0:17:34.399 So he's always been a player that's performed better in 0:17:34.520 --> 0:17:37.720 money games than he has in the regular season. But 0:17:37.880 --> 0:17:41.000 this year, you know, he's among the top fifteen rushers 0:17:41.119 --> 0:17:44.320 in the National Football League. But most importantly what I've 0:17:44.359 --> 0:17:46.440 seen out of him is out of all the running 0:17:46.480 --> 0:17:50.200 backs in the National Football League, he's third in receptions 0:17:50.240 --> 0:17:52.520 and that is a key to this offense because they've 0:17:52.520 --> 0:17:56.000 played without Gronk quite a bit, and for the routes 0:17:56.080 --> 0:17:59.360 and the spaces on the field that you're gonna need 0:17:59.480 --> 0:18:04.119 short and intermediate production. This is where Leonard Fournette has 0:18:04.160 --> 0:18:08.480 stepped up. And for Tom Brady, him having players having 0:18:08.480 --> 0:18:10.760 a running back that can catch the ball, that can 0:18:10.760 --> 0:18:14.719 be dependent upon is critical for Brady and this offense 0:18:14.760 --> 0:18:17.159 that he likes to run. So to me, you know, 0:18:17.840 --> 0:18:21.840 watching what he did this past weekend, um seems to 0:18:21.880 --> 0:18:25.560 becoming more commonplace on the field. And the other thing 0:18:25.600 --> 0:18:28.560 is when you start producing, that's when people are going 0:18:28.640 --> 0:18:30.800 to actually listen to you. At halftime, he could have 0:18:30.840 --> 0:18:34.560 been talking all he wanted, you know, previously, But until 0:18:34.640 --> 0:18:37.239 you produce, you can be any kind of leader you 0:18:37.280 --> 0:18:39.679 think you want to be. But until you produce, you know, 0:18:39.680 --> 0:18:41.680 it usually falls on deaf years. But people are now 0:18:41.720 --> 0:18:45.000 willing to listen to him. He has locker room credibility. Now, yeah, 0:18:45.080 --> 0:18:48.560 good point on that. I actually thought four and I 0:18:48.600 --> 0:18:51.720 played really well. I thought the biggest performance is Rob 0:18:51.720 --> 0:18:56.000 Gronkowski's you know and you you two things that probably 0:18:56.000 --> 0:18:59.040 don't get talked about enough. For three things in relation 0:18:59.119 --> 0:19:02.959 to ground our how remarkably smart he is is a 0:19:03.040 --> 0:19:06.919 run blocker. I know physically he's a very good run blocker, 0:19:07.000 --> 0:19:10.120 but how smart he is as a run blocker. There 0:19:10.200 --> 0:19:13.520 was a play, you know, right after they had gotten 0:19:13.520 --> 0:19:16.160 those back to back turnovers in the third quarter where 0:19:16.160 --> 0:19:18.960 they're going to run a draw to his side and 0:19:19.160 --> 0:19:22.000 Indies playing kind of in a condensed front to the 0:19:22.040 --> 0:19:24.199 tight end side, and he's got to get to the 0:19:24.240 --> 0:19:28.320 middle linebacker and it's basically impossible for him to get 0:19:28.440 --> 0:19:33.520 to that middle linebacker unless he somehow sets the defensive 0:19:33.720 --> 0:19:37.280 ent in like a bluff sense and gets skinny meaning 0:19:37.320 --> 0:19:41.000 turning his shoulders and gets inside of the defensive vent 0:19:41.080 --> 0:19:43.320 to get up to the middle linebacker. It's probably the 0:19:43.320 --> 0:19:47.000 most important block on the play and just his awareness 0:19:47.080 --> 0:19:50.199 of knowing that's the only way for me to go 0:19:50.320 --> 0:19:52.920 make the block that is necessary on second and ten 0:19:53.359 --> 0:19:56.199 and he does it. And it was a play that 0:19:56.240 --> 0:19:59.080 stood out to me because for Net ran the ball 0:19:59.160 --> 0:20:02.840 so well, and it's no coincidence that Gronk was back, 0:20:03.160 --> 0:20:06.639 and in his ability to play such a smart game 0:20:06.680 --> 0:20:09.760 and the run game blocking wise, was really big to me. 0:20:09.840 --> 0:20:12.879 Number two, Bob, You've heard me say this before. He 0:20:12.960 --> 0:20:17.439 has got such remarkable feel for color as a route runner, 0:20:18.080 --> 0:20:20.000 you know, and I say this all the time, these 0:20:21.119 --> 0:20:25.119