🎙️ ‘The Pivot’ – Chiefs Offseason Preview | Defending The Kingdom

Voice of the Chiefs Mitch Holthus and Senior Team Reporter Matt McMullen talk through the Chiefs’ upcoming offseason, plus Ari Wolfe stops by to break down the NFL playoffs.

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Speaker 1: The NFL calendar has broken up into segments. Now we’re

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Speaker 1: in the playoff segment, actually heading for the divisional playoff round.

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Speaker 1: The Chiefs unfortunately not in there for the first time

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Speaker 1: in ten years. So the chief Kingdom is in the

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Speaker 1: pivot mode. And that’s what we will explore in this

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Speaker 1: edition of Defending the Kingdom, and of course every Defending

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Speaker 1: the Kingdom brought to you by Ticketmaster. My homes in

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Speaker 1: the pocket will step up, you’ll scrabble ten fides diving

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Speaker 1: touchdown Chansas City. Hi, everyone, I’ve bet to hold his

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Speaker 1: voice to the Chiefs along with senior team reporter Matt McMullen,

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Speaker 1: and we are here to talk about the pivot, not

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Speaker 1: an NBA pivot or a basketball pivot in the lane.

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Speaker 1: It is glancing back briefly, maybe a little more than

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Speaker 1: briefly at twenty twenty five, but really looking ahead to

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty six. I don’t know how you spent your weekend,

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Speaker 1: but I was captivated by the playoff games. I think

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Speaker 1: I’ve watched almost every snap of every game, and it

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Speaker 1: just you know, when you’re in the weeds like us,

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Speaker 1: and you’re like it’s us and the opponent us and

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Speaker 1: the opponent. You don’t get to look at the league globally. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: oh my gosh. Other than the final game of the weekend,

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Speaker 1: every game was decided by four points or less all

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Speaker 1: time NFL record. But you saw when coach says got

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Speaker 1: the parody in this league is crazy. We saw it

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Speaker 1: manifested over Saturday, Sunday and Monday night.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, we sure did. And you know, we’ll talk about

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Speaker 2: areas we think this team can improve over the next

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Speaker 2: several months to make sure something like this season doesn’t

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Speaker 2: happen again next season. But I think the areas that

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Speaker 2: we’re going to talk about we’re on full display this

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Speaker 2: weekend because I think what the teams that were playing

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Speaker 2: last weekend, what they did really well over the course

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Speaker 2: of the season, were the things that maybe we struggled with.

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Speaker 2: And that’s an explosive running game, right. A lot of

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Speaker 2: these playoff teams have explosive running games. I think about

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Speaker 2: a third down efficiency on both sides of the ball.

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Speaker 2: Look at Houston against Pittsburgh. Houston’s speed on defense really

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Speaker 2: at all three levels, and their ability to suffocate the

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Speaker 2: opposed quarterback with their pass rush, but also their tenacity

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Speaker 2: and their physicality at the linebacker position and at defensive

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Speaker 2: back really impressive, right, and the Chiefs have been that before.

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Speaker 2: We got to find a way to get back to

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Speaker 2: that and also with the explosiveness with the running games.

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Speaker 2: So we’ll talk about it, but I was thinking about

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Speaker 2: watching these playoff games, thinking these areas that some of

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Speaker 2: these teams are finding a lot of success. That’s where

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Speaker 2: maybe we struggled this year. That’s why I think we’re

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Speaker 2: in the predicament that we’re in and it’s a matter

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Speaker 2: of correcting that now over the next several months.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I’m going to also dive into one of my

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Speaker 1: big thesis points where the league has changed, primarily twenty

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Speaker 1: four and twenty five. It’s just camouflaged and it proved itself.

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Speaker 1: A lot of people were on social say and we

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Speaker 1: heard what you had said and your thesis, and we’re

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Speaker 1: seeing this in front of our eyes. We just haven’t

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Speaker 1: talked about it because it’s been camouflage. But I’ll get

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Speaker 1: to that in a second. There’s your teas. But it was, Yeah,

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Speaker 1: it was remarkable. And think about Houston. They turned the

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Speaker 1: Bowl over three times on the road and win by

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Speaker 1: twenty four.

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Speaker 2: Their offense did them no favors. The defense scored two touchdowns.

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Speaker 1: Unbelieve it’s yeah, but I’m gonna get to this. They’re

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Speaker 1: not alone in the National Football League and twenty twenty

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Speaker 1: five and the twenty six playoffs. What do you have

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Speaker 1: around the world though, before we get into the weeds.

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Speaker 2: I’ve got zero around the worlds for you today. So everybody,

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Speaker 2: let me know where you’re listening.

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Speaker 1: Good, it is all good.

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Speaker 2: It’s starting fresh.

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Speaker 1: I guess it’s the pivot. Yeah, we’re pivoting to a

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Speaker 1: new galaxy. So we’re looking at we’re leaving, we’re leaving

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Speaker 1: it behind, not to re enter.

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Speaker 2: Ah.

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Speaker 1: And it’s interesting, no chief has ever won zero. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: and we’re seeing some zeros, right because when did zero

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Speaker 1: of Houston? Yeah? Yeah, So we’ve seen some other zeros.

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Speaker 2: Travis Hunter zero yeah.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, so you get some zeros. We’ve not had a zero. Yeah.

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Speaker 2: I don’t know if we ever will.

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Speaker 1: Look, it’s a whole dt K to get into our

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Speaker 1: numerology of our uniforms because it’s kind of crazy. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: we talk about it usually during the preseason. There’s just

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Speaker 1: not an We have a lot of retired numbers, a lot,

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Speaker 1: and some of those are like, well maybe we ought

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Speaker 1: to reconsider those because we could sure use some of

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Speaker 1: those numbers, But of course that gets involved with all

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Speaker 1: the way up the line. But that, to me, it’s

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Speaker 1: an interesting discussion because you’re like, nobody’s wore zero, and hey,

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Speaker 1: who’s it. So like, my granddaughter favorite numbers twenty eight

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Speaker 1: born in March to twenty eight. She loves twenty eight.

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Speaker 1: Where’s twenty eight as a uniform? She goes, Grandpa, there’s

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Speaker 1: no twenty eight. We don’t have any twenty eight. I

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Speaker 1: know Abner Haynes took it and hung it up. Then

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Speaker 1: nobody’s using it. So that’s just one of many. But anyway,

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Speaker 1: that’s a whole nother deal. I’m going down a rabbit hole.

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Speaker 1: But this episode is going to deal about the pivot

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Speaker 1: looking back at twenty twenty five. You’ve alluded to it some.

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Speaker 1: I’m going to get into it a lot. I’ll save

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Speaker 1: the third down defense and where the NFL. There’s not

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Speaker 1: enough talk about how the NFL changed this year and

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Speaker 1: how it is impacting every game of the playoffs. But

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Speaker 1: I’ll let you start with what you thought, because we’re

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Speaker 1: going to start with twenty five, and not to be

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Speaker 1: negative because we’ve said time and time again. This is

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Speaker 1: a franchise and a coaching staff and an infrastructure, and

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Speaker 1: Brett Veach and his staff in the personnel staff that is,

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Speaker 1: the infrastructure is so strong, still the best in the

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Speaker 1: league in our opinion. But the engine light just came

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Speaker 1: on in your car and you’re trying to get to

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Speaker 1: work and I’m late for work, but I hope it

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Speaker 1: doesn’t I’m going to try to go. Wait a minute,

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Speaker 1: you’re coming home and you’re like, my engine light’s still on.

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Speaker 1: I sure hope it goes off. It doesn’t go off.

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Speaker 1: It won’t go off. But now you’ve pulled the but

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Speaker 1: the engine blew up, right, So now we’re getting towed

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Speaker 1: to the shop. But the guys to fix it are

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Speaker 1: in this building. So let’s just start with that. We

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Speaker 1: believe in that, and what we’re going to say here

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Speaker 1: is only bringing up some points, primarily in a numerical

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Speaker 1: empirical sense of what we see could be one of

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Speaker 1: the really quick ways to fix what didn’t happen in

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Speaker 1: twenty five, or did happen in twenty five that couldn’t

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Speaker 1: happen in twenty six, or vice versa.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I think an important thing to look at with this,

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Speaker 2: and we’ve talked about it all year, is how thin

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Speaker 2: the margin is. It’s razor thin and couldn’t be more

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Speaker 2: true for the Chiefs last year. So through week fifteen,

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Speaker 2: which is kind of when I stopped recording the numbers

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Speaker 2: and the stats because that’s when Mahomes got hurt. Right

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Speaker 2: through week fifteen, we had the eleventh best point differential

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Speaker 2: in the NFL of the seventeen best point differentials in

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Speaker 2: the league, so one through seventeen, we were the only

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Speaker 2: team to have a losing record at that point. So

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Speaker 2: a lot of bad luck mixed in there, a lot

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Speaker 2: of the ball not bouncing your way. We lost six

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Speaker 2: games by a field goal, most of any team in

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Speaker 2: the NFL and the most for any team since the

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Speaker 2: twenty twenty three season. Nine total games were lost by

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Speaker 2: a single score. It’s not an excuse, and I’m not

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Speaker 2: trying to say, ah, the Chiefs, you know, let’s just

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Speaker 2: run it back entirely like it was and we’ll have

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Speaker 2: more luck. I’m not saying that. What I’m saying is

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Speaker 2: the margin is really thin, and we saw that over

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Speaker 2: and over again last year, where the Chiefs were one

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Speaker 2: or two plays away from winning a lot of these

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Speaker 2: games that they lost. So for me, the mission this offseason,

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Speaker 2: how do you ensure that we’re either in a position

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Speaker 2: where it doesn’t come down to one or two plays,

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Speaker 2: or if it does, we can make those one or

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Speaker 2: two plays. And one area I want to start with

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Speaker 2: is just having a more explosive running game, which I

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Speaker 2: think could help us in terms of our third down

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Speaker 2: offense as well. And I’ll get to that, but if

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Speaker 2: you look at this, we had just three runs all

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Speaker 2: of last season of twenty or more yards, fewest of

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Speaker 2: any team in the NFL, and only one of those

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Speaker 2: was by a running back. We had won by Xavier Worthy,

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Speaker 2: one by Patrick Mahomes, and one by Kareem Hunt. I

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Speaker 2: believe you got to have more explosive runs there from

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Speaker 2: the running back position. You just do. Coach Reed talked

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Speaker 2: about this at his end of season presser that our

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Speaker 2: play action just wasn’t as effective this year because the

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Speaker 2: linebackers weren’t leaning forward on the play action. And my

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Speaker 2: guess is because they weren’t too concerned about an explosive

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Speaker 2: running game. Right, if you have an explosive running game,

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Speaker 2: those linebackers have to respect it and it opens up

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Speaker 2: the passing game further, and you look at the Chiefs

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Speaker 2: third down offense this year, it just wasn’t what it’s

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Speaker 2: been in the past. We were twenty two in the

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Speaker 2: league on third down offense. That’s not Chiefs football. I

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Speaker 2: mean the Chiefs. Even when the offense last year or

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Speaker 2: a couple of years ago wasn’t like a top five offense,

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Speaker 2: we were still top five and third down and just

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Speaker 2: wasn’t the case this year. And I think not having

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Speaker 2: an explosive running game was a part of that. That’s

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Speaker 2: nothing against the guys that were at the running back

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Speaker 2: position for us last year. Those guys have done a

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Speaker 2: lot of great things for us over the years. But

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Speaker 2: we got to find a way to be more explosive

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Speaker 2: next season at the running back position, and I think

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Speaker 2: that would open up so many doors with this offense.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and we saw it in the playoffs. We saw

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Speaker 1: Woody Marks with Houston. We saw him against us. But

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Speaker 1: even on the Monday night game, you could see it.

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Speaker 1: It was a quarterback run. But Drake May’s thirty seven

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Speaker 1: yard run, that’s a tug of war. That’s a gigantic

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Speaker 1: play in that game. But it’s not just the running game.

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Speaker 1: It’s the threat to run, and so we saw it.

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Speaker 1: The Rams have the threat to run and getting significant

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Speaker 1: run plays. The Bills didn’t run it great, but the

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Speaker 1: threat is there with James Goos. You got to respect it,

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Speaker 1: and you got to respect the run game of Josh Allen. So, uh,

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Speaker 1: it’s the run game, explosive runs, You’re right, and then

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Speaker 1: the threat to run game. Now, this exacerbates my point

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Speaker 1: and where the NFL changed. And we went into this

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Speaker 1: a little bit last week, but I’m going to go

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Speaker 1: into it more because the playoffs just backed it up.

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Speaker 1: Time of possession in this league in twenty four that

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Speaker 1: she’s kind of helped change this, but time of possession,

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Speaker 1: let me just read through these. Number one in the

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Speaker 1: league in twenty five was Buffalo thirty three oh nine,

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Speaker 1: and in fact, between one and nine, one was thirty

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Speaker 1: three oh nine, and nine is thirty point four to two.

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Speaker 1: Number two, the Chargers, number three, Tampa Bay number four,

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Speaker 1: Houston number five, Jacksonville number six, New England number seven,

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Speaker 1: Denver number eight, Chicago number nine, San Francisco. What do

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Speaker 1: you notice about that group?

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Speaker 2: Those teams are all in the playoffs, all.

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Speaker 1: In the playoffs, with exception of Tampa Bay, who was

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Speaker 1: a five minutes for they were right there, yeah, five

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Speaker 1: minutes from the playoffs, and the Chiefs were zero to

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Speaker 1: seven against this group. So what’s the thesis here? Is

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Speaker 1: the league changed. It’s just camouflaged because it’s back to

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Speaker 1: ball control offense, play to my flashooting defense, which we’ve

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Speaker 1: talked about. We see it with Seattle, we see it

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Speaker 1: with Denver, we see it, we saw it with Houston.

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Speaker 1: That game was that last night. Houston turned it over.

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Speaker 1: But normally they’re playing of that defense, and they’ll teams

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Speaker 1: will take a shot. They’ll take that. Yep, there’s a shot,

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Speaker 1: hopefully get a DPI. But mainly they’re running six to

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Speaker 1: eight yard routes, or they’re running tunnel screens or bubble

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Speaker 1: screens or rocket screens, or running the ball and then

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Speaker 1: they’ll do. What I’m seeing is a play that I

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Speaker 1: saw maybe five times this weekend. I look to take

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Speaker 1: my shot. I’m sending verts. I’m sending like three or

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Speaker 1: four vertical routes. Oh, I don’t have it. I’m gonna

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Speaker 1: throw a check down to the back. But it’s not

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Speaker 1: a checkdown. It’s a delayed, delayed, delayed screen. One guy’s

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Speaker 1: out in front, of the guy in the checkdown, because

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Speaker 1: all your DB’s much of them, are down the field

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Speaker 1: with verticals, and so now I’ve got this really kind

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Speaker 1: of cool play. Even if I get eight yards now

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Speaker 1: it’s third and two, I go forward. I might make

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Speaker 1: it on fourth and one, and go for it on

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Speaker 1: fourth and two and maybe make it. But it’s it’s

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Speaker 1: me playing chess against you, and your night cannot move

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Speaker 1: three forward and two right or left. Yeah, it’s gonna

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Speaker 1: move like a pawn. I’m basically you hear me talk

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Speaker 1: about dictating terms what these teams did all year long,

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Speaker 1: and the winners in the playoffs, which is number one,

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Speaker 1: number four on this list, number six on this list,

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Speaker 1: and number eight on this list, and number nine on

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Speaker 1: this list, all one playoff games. They’re dictating the terms,

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Speaker 1: and we’ll see it even more so in the divisional round.

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Speaker 2: It’s interesting because I think the Chiefs actually did a

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Speaker 2: pretty good job of that strategy two years ago. So

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Speaker 2: in twenty twenty four, we were sixth in the league.

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Speaker 2: Ye who was number one? I can’t remember, Philadelphia? Yeah, yeah,

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Speaker 2: no surprise, and they won the Super Bowl. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: So it’s yeah, So to your point, it’s an excellent

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Speaker 1: point we were six.

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Speaker 2: We did a good job of that. What it does

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Speaker 2: is it shortens the game and it makes every possession

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Speaker 2: that much more important. And I think that’s why you’re

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Speaker 2: seeing all of these playoff games come down to the

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Speaker 2: final possession because you don’t have thirteen possessions to work with.

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Speaker 2: You don’t have a chance to run up the score

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Speaker 2: or to create a two possession lead because you only

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Speaker 2: have eight or nine possessions in the game. The Chiefs

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Speaker 2: did a good job of it a couple of years ago,

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Speaker 2: and we won a lot of one score games. Well

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Speaker 2: this past year, as we saw will be go one

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Speaker 2: in eight in one score games something like that. Not

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Speaker 2: a lot of success in one score games and not

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Speaker 2: a lot of success in terms of ball control over

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Speaker 2: the courses of the year. And just getting back to

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Speaker 2: the explosive running game, I think that played a big

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Speaker 2: role in it. Not always because you have to have

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Speaker 2: an explosive run, but because, like you said, the defense

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Speaker 2: seems to respect the fact that anytime you hand the

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Speaker 2: ball off it could go for a sixty yard run.

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Speaker 2: And the Bills have that right. A lot of these

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Speaker 2: teams have that. We struggled to find that this year

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Speaker 2: and teams could sit on the pass. And especially with

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Speaker 2: Patrick Mahomes coming off the injury, I think an awesome

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Speaker 2: way to help him as he comes back from that

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Speaker 2: injury is to give him an explosive running game. And

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Speaker 2: that’s something that looking at this offseason, I’m looking forward

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Speaker 2: to because I think that’s an area that we have

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Speaker 2: to address.

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Speaker 1: I’m gonna let you go to cause another part of

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Speaker 1: this discussion, it’s a big part of it is third

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Speaker 1: down offense and defense. So I’m going to ask you

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Speaker 1: about your third down offensive numbers.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, third done offense. Once more, we were twenty second

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Speaker 2: in the league, which is just shocking to me. You

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Speaker 2: look at last year. The offensive numbers weren’t crazy, but

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Speaker 2: we were the number one third down offense in the NFL.

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Speaker 2: Like when it came down to it on third down,

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Speaker 2: talking about twenty twenty four, we were getting it more

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Speaker 2: often than not. This past year, again, so many of

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Speaker 2: these games came down to a couple of plays, a

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Speaker 2: couple of downs, and we just didn’t convert on third down.

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Speaker 2: I think about the Houston game, for example, a couple

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Speaker 2: of big third downs in that game, a game that

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Speaker 2: we were right there with Houston, I mean, I don’t

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Speaker 2: watch these playoff games and say, man, the Texans are

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Speaker 2: like leaps and bounds better than the Chiefs. The Chiefs

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Speaker 2: were right there with the Texans. We were right there

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Speaker 2: with the Charge twice. We were right there with the Bills,

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Speaker 2: right there with a lot of these teams.

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Speaker 1: Broncos, the Broncos twice.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, even when we had like our junior versity out there.

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Speaker 2: But what happened is, I’ll give those teams credit. They

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Speaker 2: made the plays and we didn’t. We normally for years

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Speaker 2: made those plays and the other team didn’t. We have

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Speaker 2: to get back to making those plays. And it really

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Speaker 2: does come down to the simple fact of you got

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Speaker 2: to convert when it’s like third and five. And the

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Speaker 2: Chiefs for years were so good at that, and last

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Speaker 2: year we just weren’t. And we got to find a

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Speaker 2: way to get better at that.

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Speaker 1: And I’m going to take the other side of this.

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Speaker 1: That list of teams that I mentioned, we’re all in

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Speaker 1: seven against and we said their time of possession, they’re

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Speaker 1: dictating terms. You have one side of this, and that

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Speaker 1: is being efficient yourself. The other side of this is

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Speaker 1: what getting teams off the field.

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Speaker 2: You got to get pressure to get teams off the field.

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Speaker 1: You’ve got to get teams off the field one way

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Speaker 1: or the other. Pressure, coverage, scheme, personnel, all of this

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Speaker 1: now here my point, and this is where just Bags

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Speaker 1: will work on this and fixing this, and have every

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Speaker 1: belief that he will. Sixteen times this season in the

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Speaker 1: eleven losses. Just take the eleven losses. Sixteen times in

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Speaker 1: the eleven losses, there were third and ten eight times.

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Speaker 1: Half the times was third and ten or more, and

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Speaker 1: we did not stop them at critical points of the game.

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Speaker 2: Chargers game, Broncos game.

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Speaker 1: And here’s where you can get tricked in a little

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Speaker 1: bit of going. The Chiefs were sixth in scoring defense.

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Speaker 1: You’re like, all right, nineteen points a game, let’s go well,

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Speaker 1: losing games twenty three, nineteen twenty two, nineteen twenty thirteen,

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Speaker 1: sixteen thirteen, twenty to ten. At the critical time of

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Speaker 1: these low possession teams playing to dictate terms, you’ve got

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Speaker 1: a chance to get him off the field. Anybody would

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Speaker 1: say third and ten, third and nine thirty eight eight

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Speaker 1: times there was third and ten or more and the

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Speaker 1: other team converted or actually got a touchdown in a

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Speaker 1: couple instances. Let me just give you a few Denver

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Speaker 1: on the road, two two to go in the game.

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Speaker 1: It is tied at nineteen. Denver has third and fifteen

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Speaker 1: at their own twenty one yard line. If they just

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Speaker 1: get seven yards or eight yards, you hold them to that.

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Speaker 1: They’ve got a punt and Pat Mahomes gets a field

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Speaker 1: goal to win it. Yea inside of two minutes and

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Speaker 1: we win twenty yard game, first down. What does Denver do?

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Speaker 1: It leads to the overtime in Denver wins in that game.

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Speaker 1: All right, there’s more here. Jacksonville. Jacksonville a minute and

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Speaker 1: one second to go in the game, they have the ball,

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Speaker 1: third down and nine, I believe, at their own forty

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Speaker 1: three yard line, and they get a thirty five yard

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Speaker 1: pass to the boundary. You remember just barely missed time.

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Speaker 1: I went back and watched all these tiers. I think

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Speaker 1: it was bron Thomas barely missed, but still it was

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Speaker 1: Trevor Lawrence getting his feet set and making a good

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Speaker 1: throat to the outside boundary to numbers, that’s another one.

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Speaker 1: If you stop them there, you have you can kill

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Speaker 1: the clock. You’re ahead twenty eight to twenty four. You’re

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Speaker 1: not trailing, or it is not tied and there are

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Speaker 1: again sixteen times.

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Speaker 2: Week one it’s the Chargers Week one, third and fifteen.

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Speaker 1: And there’s actually a time before that, at a critical

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Speaker 1: time near the end of the half where it’s third

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Speaker 1: down and sixteen and they get fifteen and make it

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Speaker 1: on a fourth and one tush push with Herbert.

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Speaker 2: That’s right.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, Okay, so there’s another You get them off the field,

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Speaker 1: you get field positioned a chance to score. And that

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Speaker 1: was a lot of the back to backs that happened.

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Speaker 1: But mostly most of these are in the fourth quarter.

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Speaker 1: So eight times of the sixteen it was third and

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Speaker 1: ten or more. Five times it was between third and

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Speaker 1: six and nine. These aren’t third and two, third and threes,

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Speaker 1: third and once. They’re not they’re long. So here’s the point.

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Speaker 1: I have every belief in Steve Spagnolo fixing. This is

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Speaker 1: its s game. Yeah. Probably. Is it personnel, Yeah probably,

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Speaker 1: is it pass rush lack thereof yeah, is it coverage,

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Speaker 1: It’s all of that. It’s my act score. I said,

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Speaker 1: fill them all in all of the above. I got

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Speaker 1: like a five, But you fill it in all the above,

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Speaker 1: and that’s where spags and I’ve got belief in it.

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Speaker 1: So it looks like a negative But the point I

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Speaker 1: think we’re trying to make here is if you just

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Speaker 1: fix half of these, yeah, you’re eleven and six, you’re

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Speaker 1: not six and eleven because these are critical. The game

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Speaker 1: flips on these plays at this time, and it just

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Speaker 1: happened over and over and over again.

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Speaker 2: And that’s my point with getting more explosive at running

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Speaker 2: back too, is we don’t necessarily need James Cook. We

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Speaker 2: just need to get a little bit more explosive there.

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Speaker 2: If you get a little bit more explosive at running

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Speaker 2: back and you can stop the opposition on a quarter

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Speaker 2: of those long third downs, we’re talking about a playoff

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Speaker 2: game right now. Right So that’s to my point earlier

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Speaker 2: about how thin the margin is, and we were just

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Speaker 2: on the other side of it this year. But the

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Speaker 2: exciting part of all of this is that what we’re

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Speaker 2: talking about, like this isn’t rocket science, Like these are

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Speaker 2: things that Chiefs can attack and improve in the off season,

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Speaker 2: and like I’ve talked about over the last handful of weeks,

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Speaker 2: I’m excited for that opportunity. You know, it’s been kind

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Speaker 2: of interesting the Chiefs have been in this mode over

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Speaker 2: the last several years where there are enormous expectations, and

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Speaker 2: almost always they have come through on those expectations. With

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Speaker 2: your picking at the bottom of the first round, you

407
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Speaker 2: don’t have a lot of money to work with because

408
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Speaker 2: you have a lot of high priced players, but yet

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Speaker 2: you have expectations to get to and win the Super Bowl,

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Speaker 2: and the Chiefs have done that over and over and

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Speaker 2: over again. You can make it to five Super Bowls

412
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Speaker 2: in six years, you win three of them, you win

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Speaker 2: two in a row, you have a chance to go

414
00:19:23,440 –> 00:19:25,800
Speaker 2: back to back. You know, watching the playoffs last weekend,

415
00:19:26,480 –> 00:19:29,000
Speaker 2: watching the Eagles lose in the first round, give me

416
00:19:29,080 –> 00:19:32,280
Speaker 2: even more perspective about how incredible the back to back

417
00:19:32,359 –> 00:19:35,040
Speaker 2: run was. Like, it is so hard to go back

418
00:19:35,080 –> 00:19:37,280
Speaker 2: to back, and the Chiefs did it right. And they

419
00:19:37,359 –> 00:19:39,040
Speaker 2: not only did that, they made it back for a

420
00:19:39,040 –> 00:19:41,000
Speaker 2: third time with the chance at the three peat, one

421
00:19:41,040 –> 00:19:44,080
Speaker 2: game away from three Super Bowls in a row. I

422
00:19:44,119 –> 00:19:46,679
Speaker 2: say all this just to say that this team for

423
00:19:46,720 –> 00:19:49,720
Speaker 2: so long was in that mode. I think now where

424
00:19:49,760 –> 00:19:52,800
Speaker 2: it’s possible that even though we were winning, there were

425
00:19:53,080 –> 00:19:57,840
Speaker 2: things that were maybe like compound fractures, right, like issues

426
00:19:57,880 –> 00:20:01,080
Speaker 2: that were building over time. But you just can’t address

427
00:20:01,160 –> 00:20:04,959
Speaker 2: those things with wholesale changes. Because you’re winning and you

428
00:20:05,000 –> 00:20:06,840
Speaker 2: have the goal in front of you. Well, when you

429
00:20:06,880 –> 00:20:09,680
Speaker 2: have a season like this, a silver lining is all Right,

430
00:20:09,800 –> 00:20:12,080
Speaker 2: Now it’s time to make some changes and address things,

431
00:20:12,080 –> 00:20:14,280
Speaker 2: fix things that maybe we’re building over a long period

432
00:20:14,320 –> 00:20:16,239
Speaker 2: of time, and set ourselves up for a run of

433
00:20:16,240 –> 00:20:18,800
Speaker 2: success that hopefully lasts another seven eight years.

434
00:20:18,920 –> 00:20:19,120
Speaker 1: Right.

435
00:20:19,200 –> 00:20:21,360
Speaker 2: So that’s how I’m looking at this. It’s a great

436
00:20:21,400 –> 00:20:24,479
Speaker 2: opportunity for the chiefs, the front office, the coaching staff,

437
00:20:24,520 –> 00:20:27,760
Speaker 2: and the players to reset a little bit, to fix

438
00:20:27,800 –> 00:20:30,000
Speaker 2: the things that went wrong, the things that we’re talking about,

439
00:20:30,400 –> 00:20:32,440
Speaker 2: and to go on another run. And I have full

440
00:20:32,480 –> 00:20:35,480
Speaker 2: confidence in the people here to get that done. Like

441
00:20:36,000 –> 00:20:38,600
Speaker 2: you said, we’re not laying out these things to be negative.

442
00:20:38,600 –> 00:20:41,040
Speaker 2: We’re seeing them like, Hey, these are the issues that

443
00:20:41,080 –> 00:20:44,040
Speaker 2: are correctable. We believe in the people here to correct

444
00:20:44,080 –> 00:20:46,440
Speaker 2: those issues, and hopefully this time next year we’re talking

445
00:20:46,440 –> 00:20:47,320
Speaker 2: about a playoff runt.

446
00:20:47,359 –> 00:20:49,199
Speaker 1: Who’s the guy across the street that’s your neighbor that

447
00:20:49,240 –> 00:20:51,840
Speaker 1: fixes everything, Jeff shout out, Jeff, Yeah, Jeff, this would

448
00:20:51,840 –> 00:20:56,480
Speaker 1: be your car. The engine lights on and your wife’s going, hey,

449
00:20:56,520 –> 00:20:58,159
Speaker 1: better not drive it. The work. You’ve got to get

450
00:20:58,200 –> 00:20:59,879
Speaker 1: to work in ten minutes. I’ve got to do dutwok.

451
00:21:00,400 –> 00:21:01,680
Speaker 1: And then you take it over to Jeff and he

452
00:21:01,720 –> 00:21:03,920
Speaker 1: does the diagnostics and he goes, oh, we got to

453
00:21:03,920 –> 00:21:05,400
Speaker 1: fix this, this, this, and this, but he fixes.

454
00:21:05,400 –> 00:21:06,919
Speaker 2: Can kind of give you a great example like this,

455
00:21:06,960 –> 00:21:09,199
Speaker 2: actually this actually happened. This kind of thing happens all

456
00:21:09,240 –> 00:21:12,240
Speaker 2: the time. Is so I live in an older home

457
00:21:12,520 –> 00:21:14,639
Speaker 2: and my h vacuing in it is on like a

458
00:21:14,640 –> 00:21:17,440
Speaker 2: concrete slab like out on on the side of the house.

459
00:21:17,920 –> 00:21:21,360
Speaker 1: And those are great usually great pores of concrete that lasts, Oh,

460
00:21:21,440 –> 00:21:23,640
Speaker 1: I don’t know, five hundred years.

461
00:21:23,640 –> 00:21:27,040
Speaker 2: I mean this is poor in probably nineteen, yeah, seventy five,

462
00:21:27,200 –> 00:21:27,520
Speaker 2: I don’t know.

463
00:21:27,520 –> 00:21:29,560
Speaker 1: I don’t think there’s any rebar in there either.

464
00:21:29,520 –> 00:21:31,800
Speaker 2: Probably not. And it’s you know, it’s kind of slanting.

465
00:21:31,840 –> 00:21:34,120
Speaker 2: And I think I was a slick Well that’s the thing.

466
00:21:34,119 –> 00:21:36,399
Speaker 1: It was like slant listing at thirty degree support.

467
00:21:36,480 –> 00:21:38,560
Speaker 2: And I was like trimming the weeds in the side

468
00:21:38,600 –> 00:21:41,159
Speaker 2: of my house. And I feel him walking over and

469
00:21:41,160 –> 00:21:42,720
Speaker 2: he’s like hey, Matt, and I was like hey, and

470
00:21:42,760 –> 00:21:45,800
Speaker 2: he’s like, your your Your hvac’s kind of slanting, but

471
00:21:45,800 –> 00:21:47,760
Speaker 2: we’re going to fix it. And he had like a

472
00:21:47,920 –> 00:21:49,800
Speaker 2: like a big concrete brick form and he puts it

473
00:21:49,880 –> 00:21:52,040
Speaker 2: under sure and he’s like, good as new. That’s what

474
00:21:52,040 –> 00:21:55,119
Speaker 2: we’re talking about right here. The system was good, just

475
00:21:55,200 –> 00:21:56,640
Speaker 2: needed to get it, you know, fixed.

476
00:21:56,400 –> 00:21:58,960
Speaker 1: A little bit engine lights on cheese Kingdom. Yeah, do

477
00:21:59,080 –> 00:22:02,040
Speaker 1: the diagnostics take a look at it and get it fixed.

478
00:22:02,080 –> 00:22:04,040
Speaker 1: That’s what we’re dealing with. Let me take this a

479
00:22:04,080 –> 00:22:09,760
Speaker 1: step further, so the scoring drives allowed, scoring drives allowed.

480
00:22:10,200 –> 00:22:13,840
Speaker 1: The Chiefs are making everybody work to score, but they’re scoring. Yeah,

481
00:22:13,920 –> 00:22:16,160
Speaker 1: So they were twenty ninth in the league. The average

482
00:22:16,160 –> 00:22:19,120
Speaker 1: scoring drive. This isn’t a drive. This is a scoring drive,

483
00:22:19,160 –> 00:22:21,920
Speaker 1: either field goal or touchdown. The Chiefs were twenty ninth

484
00:22:22,280 –> 00:22:25,760
Speaker 1: eight point eight one plays, but the Chiefs were last

485
00:22:26,000 –> 00:22:28,480
Speaker 1: in that it was four minutes and twenty five seconds

486
00:22:28,560 –> 00:22:31,880
Speaker 1: and the team still scored. So that’s not getting off

487
00:22:31,880 –> 00:22:33,719
Speaker 1: the field. When you can get off the field and

488
00:22:33,760 –> 00:22:37,200
Speaker 1: then ten plays scoring efficiency against the Chiefs, a ten

489
00:22:37,240 –> 00:22:40,600
Speaker 1: play drive and you still score. How efficient are you

490
00:22:40,640 –> 00:22:43,320
Speaker 1: on the ten play drive? The Chiefs were the fourth worst.

491
00:22:43,840 –> 00:22:46,719
Speaker 1: So to me, again this is just a point that

492
00:22:46,760 –> 00:22:50,760
Speaker 1: we’re both making, is you could get to eleven and

493
00:22:50,840 –> 00:22:52,080
Speaker 1: six on this stattlee.

494
00:22:52,320 –> 00:22:56,119
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I really do think that football, at the

495
00:22:56,200 –> 00:22:58,840
Speaker 2: end of the day, is one up front, and when

496
00:22:58,880 –> 00:23:01,040
Speaker 2: you’re looking at some of these defens numbers, these issues

497
00:23:01,080 –> 00:23:03,880
Speaker 2: on third down, it boils down to defensive line, and

498
00:23:04,000 –> 00:23:06,680
Speaker 2: I think defensive line is an area the Chiefs could

499
00:23:06,680 –> 00:23:09,359
Speaker 2: address this offseason, whether that be through free agency or

500
00:23:09,400 –> 00:23:13,440
Speaker 2: the draft. Defensive line is an emphasis area both that edge,

501
00:23:13,440 –> 00:23:16,560
Speaker 2: maybe getting some speed there, but also at defensive tackle,

502
00:23:16,640 –> 00:23:19,560
Speaker 2: where you look at the course of the season, losing

503
00:23:19,720 –> 00:23:22,040
Speaker 2: Omar Norman lot early in the year turned out to

504
00:23:22,040 –> 00:23:25,280
Speaker 2: be a pretty big deal just because we did not

505
00:23:25,400 –> 00:23:28,440
Speaker 2: have a lot of bodies there. Chris Jones is getting

506
00:23:28,440 –> 00:23:33,000
Speaker 2: triple teamed and you just have to have bodies you

507
00:23:33,040 –> 00:23:35,680
Speaker 2: can rotate ind who can create pressure up front at

508
00:23:35,760 –> 00:23:38,520
Speaker 2: defensive tackle. And we bring on Mike Panell late in

509
00:23:38,560 –> 00:23:40,359
Speaker 2: the year. We know it Mike can do but a

510
00:23:40,359 –> 00:23:42,040
Speaker 2: big part of some Super Bowl teams.

511
00:23:42,520 –> 00:23:44,640
Speaker 1: But by the fact nat he was with the Jets.

512
00:23:44,760 –> 00:23:47,240
Speaker 2: Yeah, but I think that’s an area the Chiefs could

513
00:23:47,280 –> 00:23:51,280
Speaker 2: address where we just need to get more explosive there

514
00:23:51,520 –> 00:23:54,720
Speaker 2: at defensive tackle and at defensive end. And you look

515
00:23:54,760 –> 00:23:57,520
Speaker 2: at some of these teams across the league, Denver comes

516
00:23:57,520 –> 00:23:59,960
Speaker 2: to mind. They just have guy after guy after guy.

517
00:24:00,160 –> 00:24:03,879
Speaker 2: They’re rotating in there. Houston obviously, but so many of

518
00:24:03,880 –> 00:24:07,080
Speaker 2: these teams like great pass rushes. We’ve got to get

519
00:24:07,119 –> 00:24:09,600
Speaker 2: more pressure and the Chiefs. I look back at like

520
00:24:09,600 –> 00:24:12,480
Speaker 2: twenty twenty three, that Chief’s defense in twenty twenty three

521
00:24:12,600 –> 00:24:16,159
Speaker 2: was really really good, right, and it began with their

522
00:24:16,160 –> 00:24:19,480
Speaker 2: pass rush. So defensively, if we’re talking about.

523
00:24:19,960 –> 00:24:22,240
Speaker 1: Who’s ever played here, Oh, I unbelieving on that seven

524
00:24:22,280 –> 00:24:24,520
Speaker 1: game stretch where you look like Pro Bowl.

525
00:24:24,480 –> 00:24:27,560
Speaker 2: Stripsack on Lamar Jackson and it was coming from all

526
00:24:27,560 –> 00:24:30,080
Speaker 2: these different places. That’s an area that I think the

527
00:24:30,119 –> 00:24:33,119
Speaker 2: Chiefs could address this offseason again through free agency or

528
00:24:33,119 –> 00:24:36,840
Speaker 2: the draft or both, just really trying to invest in

529
00:24:36,840 –> 00:24:37,600
Speaker 2: the defensive front.

530
00:24:37,600 –> 00:24:39,480
Speaker 1: Did you just send me this email on my surface

531
00:24:39,480 –> 00:24:43,040
Speaker 1: about running backs explosive and explosive interior alignment in the draft.

532
00:24:43,200 –> 00:24:44,959
Speaker 2: Yeah, it’s got to take over our life here over

533
00:24:45,000 –> 00:24:45,480
Speaker 2: the next day.

534
00:24:45,600 –> 00:24:47,800
Speaker 1: We’ll get to that. We’re not in this episode, but

535
00:24:47,880 –> 00:24:50,480
Speaker 1: we do still have our spy out there. How long

536
00:24:50,520 –> 00:24:52,320
Speaker 1: have we hadn’t employed out there? We can’t.

537
00:24:52,920 –> 00:24:55,080
Speaker 2: He’s been out there behind enemy lines for months and

538
00:24:55,119 –> 00:24:55,760
Speaker 2: months and months.

539
00:24:55,880 –> 00:24:57,520
Speaker 1: It’s a little rough on MA, don’t know how much

540
00:24:58,359 –> 00:24:58,960
Speaker 1: how much.

541
00:24:58,800 –> 00:25:01,720
Speaker 2: Food or care package going his way?

542
00:25:01,760 –> 00:25:04,520
Speaker 1: Hopefully it’s a drone right above yard and it’s gonna

543
00:25:04,600 –> 00:25:07,720
Speaker 1: drop it down. You get some water and some MRIs,

544
00:25:07,840 –> 00:25:11,880
Speaker 1: which is military for military ready to eat. We’ll send

545
00:25:11,880 –> 00:25:13,720
Speaker 1: that to you and drop it to you. But we

546
00:25:13,760 –> 00:25:15,520
Speaker 1: can either do that or we can check in with

547
00:25:15,560 –> 00:25:18,439
Speaker 1: our spy as let’s check in with Ari Wolf.

548
00:25:18,760 –> 00:25:21,560
Speaker 3: Hello to everyone, and welcome to a playoff edition of

549
00:25:21,600 –> 00:25:23,679
Speaker 3: Out West. I am joined by two of my favorite

550
00:25:23,680 –> 00:25:27,399
Speaker 3: football minds, Mitch Holtis and Matt McMullen. Gentlemen, appreciate you

551
00:25:27,440 –> 00:25:29,879
Speaker 3: spending some time with me. So it’s the playoffs. We

552
00:25:29,920 –> 00:25:32,720
Speaker 3: don’t have the Chiefs, and that is a huge bomber.

553
00:25:32,760 –> 00:25:35,040
Speaker 3: It seems sort of like an out of body experience

554
00:25:35,400 –> 00:25:38,560
Speaker 3: to not be talking about the Chiefs. But the playoffs

555
00:25:38,600 –> 00:25:41,520
Speaker 3: go on and there’s lots to talk about. This segment

556
00:25:41,560 –> 00:25:44,240
Speaker 3: has focused on the AFC West throughout the season, so

557
00:25:44,280 –> 00:25:46,680
Speaker 3: I thought there was one AFC West team, so let’s

558
00:25:46,680 –> 00:25:50,200
Speaker 3: start with them. The Chargers went to Foxborough. It didn’t

559
00:25:50,200 –> 00:25:52,000
Speaker 3: come as a huge surprise, but they got to be

560
00:25:52,119 –> 00:25:56,760
Speaker 3: pretty soundly nineteen to three on Sunday night. Herbert had

561
00:25:56,800 –> 00:25:59,200
Speaker 3: a tough night through for one hundred and fifty nine

562
00:25:59,280 –> 00:26:02,480
Speaker 3: yards off and didn’t have much going. So let’s take

563
00:26:02,520 –> 00:26:05,800
Speaker 3: a little broader look at the Chargers. So we’re done

564
00:26:05,800 –> 00:26:09,720
Speaker 3: with year two of Jim Harbaugh. This is Tuesday afternoon.

565
00:26:09,720 –> 00:26:12,440
Speaker 3: Greg Roman has been fired, Mike devil In, their offensive

566
00:26:12,480 –> 00:26:15,879
Speaker 3: line coach has been fired. Justin Herbert is now zero

567
00:26:15,920 –> 00:26:18,959
Speaker 3: to three in the playoffs, and frankly, all three performances

568
00:26:19,240 –> 00:26:22,440
Speaker 3: I think he would even admit have not been good enough.

569
00:26:23,040 –> 00:26:24,679
Speaker 3: So what do we think of the Chargers as we

570
00:26:24,720 –> 00:26:27,040
Speaker 3: look at the AFC West going into the future. Are

571
00:26:27,040 –> 00:26:29,440
Speaker 3: you guys bullish that Harball is going to find the

572
00:26:29,520 –> 00:26:33,440
Speaker 3: right combination or the Chargers work in progress? Matt, let’s

573
00:26:33,440 –> 00:26:36,199
Speaker 3: start with you. What’s your take on the future for

574
00:26:36,280 –> 00:26:37,640
Speaker 3: the Los Angeles Chargers.

575
00:26:38,040 –> 00:26:40,240
Speaker 2: Well, that’s a tough break for their offensive line coach,

576
00:26:40,320 –> 00:26:43,280
Speaker 2: isn’t it. I mean not his fault. They lost Alton

577
00:26:43,320 –> 00:26:46,000
Speaker 2: Slater and MS Pipkins for a while and we’re down

578
00:26:46,040 –> 00:26:49,960
Speaker 2: to like their third stringers at tackle. You know, it’s interesting.

579
00:26:50,080 –> 00:26:52,160
Speaker 2: I think there’s gonna be a lot of questions about

580
00:26:52,200 –> 00:26:55,520
Speaker 2: Herbert moving forward, and I think when you’re a player

581
00:26:55,520 –> 00:26:57,400
Speaker 2: of his caliber, like we all agree, he’s a very

582
00:26:57,400 –> 00:27:00,000
Speaker 2: good quarterback and can get his team to the playoffs.

583
00:27:00,119 –> 00:27:02,240
Speaker 2: But at the end of the day, what really matters

584
00:27:02,280 –> 00:27:04,840
Speaker 2: at that position is can you win playoff games and

585
00:27:04,920 –> 00:27:07,919
Speaker 2: make plays in big moments. And the reality for Herbert

586
00:27:07,960 –> 00:27:09,880
Speaker 2: so far as he has come up short in those

587
00:27:09,880 –> 00:27:13,159
Speaker 2: playoff games. So I think they’re in a tough spot

588
00:27:13,240 –> 00:27:17,920
Speaker 2: where you have a team that obviously is playoff caliber,

589
00:27:18,680 –> 00:27:21,159
Speaker 2: but you can’t fast forward to these playoff games and

590
00:27:21,200 –> 00:27:23,560
Speaker 2: try to get that moment for Herbert. So do they

591
00:27:23,560 –> 00:27:25,520
Speaker 2: have a season next year where they’re thinking too much

592
00:27:25,560 –> 00:27:27,640
Speaker 2: about coming through in the playoffs and they don’t even

593
00:27:27,680 –> 00:27:31,000
Speaker 2: make it there. That would be my concern for the Chargers,

594
00:27:31,000 –> 00:27:32,919
Speaker 2: and as a Chiefs fan, I certainly hope that happens,

595
00:27:33,840 –> 00:27:36,160
Speaker 2: but it could be an interesting thing to watch, where

596
00:27:36,240 –> 00:27:38,919
Speaker 2: does Herbert start thinking too much about the lack of

597
00:27:38,920 –> 00:27:41,960
Speaker 2: playoff success and does that hurt his career in the

598
00:27:42,000 –> 00:27:43,040
Speaker 2: short term. We’ll see.

599
00:27:43,600 –> 00:27:46,439
Speaker 3: Yeah, you can’t be worried about legacy early in your carrd.

600
00:27:46,520 –> 00:27:49,680
Speaker 3: So let’s pose it to Mitche. Okay, you’re a prognosticator.

601
00:27:49,840 –> 00:27:52,280
Speaker 3: You’re on the stock market. You can either buy the

602
00:27:52,400 –> 00:27:55,040
Speaker 3: Chargers right now or sell the Chargers. What do you

603
00:27:55,160 –> 00:27:57,880
Speaker 3: tell in Chief Kingdom about the future for the Chargers.

604
00:27:59,480 –> 00:28:02,159
Speaker 1: I’m going to that stock alone. Here’s where I’m going.

605
00:28:02,400 –> 00:28:06,480
Speaker 1: This is about six sixth grade Missus Leonard and Roxley Barnes.

606
00:28:07,040 –> 00:28:10,399
Speaker 1: And here’s why hear me out. I had a battle

607
00:28:10,440 –> 00:28:13,000
Speaker 1: ax sixth grade. One of my sixth grade teachers was

608
00:28:13,080 –> 00:28:16,320
Speaker 1: Missus Leonard Roxy Barnes could do no wrong. If she

609
00:28:16,480 –> 00:28:19,359
Speaker 1: got a bad grade on a test, it was like, well,

610
00:28:19,400 –> 00:28:21,800
Speaker 1: you didn’t do that badly, you can do better next time.

611
00:28:22,280 –> 00:28:23,879
Speaker 1: I would have the same score, and it’s like, what

612
00:28:23,880 –> 00:28:27,119
Speaker 1: are you doing? What are you doing? So the grading

613
00:28:27,160 –> 00:28:29,440
Speaker 1: scale for the Chargers to me has seemed like it’s

614
00:28:29,480 –> 00:28:33,959
Speaker 1: been pretty light over the years. And I don’t know

615
00:28:34,000 –> 00:28:37,720
Speaker 1: if it’s because they’re oh right across the Causeway from

616
00:28:38,280 –> 00:28:41,840
Speaker 1: NFL network or what, but this to me is a

617
00:28:41,880 –> 00:28:45,880
Speaker 1: crushing loss to them, and to or to fire Greg Roman,

618
00:28:46,320 –> 00:28:50,120
Speaker 1: to me, is a bigger deal than you think. Jim

619
00:28:50,200 –> 00:28:55,120
Speaker 1: Harbaugh has wanted to bring the Ravens to the AFC West.

620
00:28:55,160 –> 00:28:59,640
Speaker 1: He’s wanted to bring the Michigan Wolverines, the old Stanford Cardinal,

621
00:28:59,760 –> 00:29:02,840
Speaker 1: this San Diego Torrero’s he wants to bring that to

622
00:29:02,920 –> 00:29:08,239
Speaker 1: the West, and he got pummeled in this game. And

623
00:29:08,280 –> 00:29:10,640
Speaker 1: it goes back ari to one of my thesis points,

624
00:29:10,680 –> 00:29:14,000
Speaker 1: and I’ve actually made it on this podcast. Things are

625
00:29:14,000 –> 00:29:16,040
Speaker 1: happening in this league right under our nose, and we’re

626
00:29:16,080 –> 00:29:19,920
Speaker 1: not recognizing it because it’s camouflaged, and that is we

627
00:29:20,000 –> 00:29:22,800
Speaker 1: are playing. And Harbaugh’s right in the middle of this.

628
00:29:23,680 –> 00:29:25,440
Speaker 1: He was second I think in the league in time

629
00:29:25,480 –> 00:29:28,640
Speaker 1: of possession. He wants to play it really close and tight,

630
00:29:28,720 –> 00:29:31,160
Speaker 1: don’t turn it over, play to your defense. Let Twoey

631
00:29:31,200 –> 00:29:35,120
Speaker 1: Polout two go crazy and Khalail Mack and Durwin James Junior,

632
00:29:35,160 –> 00:29:38,320
Speaker 1: and then we’ll win games twenty one to eighteen. Until

633
00:29:38,360 –> 00:29:40,000
Speaker 1: you play a game like the other day and you

634
00:29:40,040 –> 00:29:45,000
Speaker 1: get absolutely just destroyed, and so that makes you think

635
00:29:45,040 –> 00:29:49,880
Speaker 1: and reconfigure everything, including your quarterback and your personnel. So

636
00:29:49,920 –> 00:29:52,280
Speaker 1: the fact that he fired Greg Rahman to me is

637
00:29:53,440 –> 00:29:55,600
Speaker 1: I don’t know where they’re at, to be quite honest.

638
00:29:55,960 –> 00:29:59,000
Speaker 1: So if my investor calls me and goes, what do

639
00:29:59,000 –> 00:30:00,920
Speaker 1: you think of this stock, well, let’s look at something

640
00:30:00,960 –> 00:30:02,240
Speaker 1: else right now?

641
00:30:03,920 –> 00:30:06,280
Speaker 3: Fair enough? I like that, all right. I wanted to

642
00:30:06,280 –> 00:30:08,240
Speaker 3: talk about a few of the games from this past weekend,

643
00:30:08,280 –> 00:30:10,480
Speaker 3: and then we’ll talk about the games coming up this weekend,

644
00:30:11,080 –> 00:30:12,840
Speaker 3: and then we’re also going to have some awards. All

645
00:30:12,880 –> 00:30:14,120
Speaker 3: of us are going to have our end of the

646
00:30:14,200 –> 00:30:17,320
Speaker 3: Year awards, MVP and a few other ones. So, first

647
00:30:17,320 –> 00:30:20,719
Speaker 3: one to talk about the Panthers. It was the opening

648
00:30:20,760 –> 00:30:23,440
Speaker 3: game of the playoff weekend. I thought Bryce Young and

649
00:30:23,480 –> 00:30:26,080
Speaker 3: the Panthers sort of played above their heads. I mean,

650
00:30:26,120 –> 00:30:28,960
Speaker 3: they gave the Rams all they can handle. My number

651
00:30:29,000 –> 00:30:31,520
Speaker 3: one takeaway from the game was what Matthew Stafford said

652
00:30:31,520 –> 00:30:33,520
Speaker 3: in the huddle before the game winning drive. And He’s like,

653
00:30:33,600 –> 00:30:37,160
Speaker 3: let’s go snatch their hearts right out of him, super

654
00:30:37,200 –> 00:30:39,840
Speaker 3: cold blooded. But isn’t that what you want? But is

655
00:30:39,880 –> 00:30:42,920
Speaker 3: that something you’d expect Patrick Mahomes to also say. So,

656
00:30:43,400 –> 00:30:46,280
Speaker 3: Stafford to me is the guy right now. He’s to

657
00:30:46,320 –> 00:30:50,080
Speaker 3: be the best quarterback currently in the field. That win

658
00:30:50,280 –> 00:30:51,600
Speaker 3: is a win to get you into the heart of

659
00:30:51,640 –> 00:30:53,600
Speaker 3: the playoffs in the divisional round, They’re gonna have to

660
00:30:53,600 –> 00:30:56,040
Speaker 3: win on the road the whole way. What’d you guys

661
00:30:56,080 –> 00:30:58,520
Speaker 3: make of the Rams performance in Charlotte.

662
00:30:58,720 –> 00:31:02,480
Speaker 2: Kind of felt like they showed up thinking they’re gonna win,

663
00:31:03,120 –> 00:31:05,760
Speaker 2: and the Panthers were playing like a team that had

664
00:31:05,800 –> 00:31:09,560
Speaker 2: nothing to lose. But in the end. The Rams, being

665
00:31:09,600 –> 00:31:11,920
Speaker 2: as talented as they are, they made the plays when

666
00:31:11,960 –> 00:31:16,040
Speaker 2: they had to. And pretty cool for Stafford to say

667
00:31:16,040 –> 00:31:18,400
Speaker 2: that in the huddle after the season that he’s had

668
00:31:18,400 –> 00:31:21,160
Speaker 2: where through for over forty five touchdowns. I think he

669
00:31:21,240 –> 00:31:23,960
Speaker 2: led the league in passing yards. Just an unbelievable season

670
00:31:23,960 –> 00:31:26,360
Speaker 2: for him. I think his best season as a pro,

671
00:31:26,480 –> 00:31:29,800
Speaker 2: and that’s saying something. And in that moment for him

672
00:31:29,800 –> 00:31:32,160
Speaker 2: to lead a game winning drive like that when the

673
00:31:32,200 –> 00:31:34,160
Speaker 2: Panthers had all the momentum in the world and again

674
00:31:34,200 –> 00:31:36,360
Speaker 2: nothing to lose, while the Rams had everything to lose,

675
00:31:36,720 –> 00:31:38,360
Speaker 2: pretty cool he was able to lead them through that.

676
00:31:39,400 –> 00:31:42,480
Speaker 2: I do wonder even though I think the Rams this

677
00:31:42,600 –> 00:31:44,920
Speaker 2: year were the best team in football, I do wonder

678
00:31:45,160 –> 00:31:47,680
Speaker 2: if they’ve made this bed for themselves where it’s going

679
00:31:47,720 –> 00:31:49,320
Speaker 2: to be really tough for them to get to the

680
00:31:49,320 –> 00:31:51,240
Speaker 2: super Bowl and win it. Just playing on the road

681
00:31:51,280 –> 00:31:54,760
Speaker 2: the whole way. We’ve seen it happen before, hasn’t happened

682
00:31:54,760 –> 00:31:57,320
Speaker 2: often though. We’ll see if they can do it, but

683
00:31:58,200 –> 00:32:02,480
Speaker 2: first tests for them, they passed it close. I thought

684
00:32:02,480 –> 00:32:04,080
Speaker 2: the Panthers a guy to do it there for a minute,

685
00:32:04,120 –> 00:32:05,800
Speaker 2: but respect for the Rams. We’ll see if they can

686
00:32:05,840 –> 00:32:06,240
Speaker 2: keep it going.

687
00:32:06,960 –> 00:32:09,000
Speaker 1: This felt like a cat playing with a mouse in

688
00:32:09,040 –> 00:32:13,280
Speaker 1: the corner, some kid playing with this food. I even

689
00:32:13,520 –> 00:32:15,000
Speaker 1: so I thought, well, they’re gonna mess out a lot

690
00:32:15,320 –> 00:32:17,360
Speaker 1: like math, They’re going to mess around enough ra that

691
00:32:17,920 –> 00:32:20,040
Speaker 1: they could goof this up. But then they’re like, nah,

692
00:32:20,120 –> 00:32:22,480
Speaker 1: we’ll just go win it right here. And why do

693
00:32:22,560 –> 00:32:24,720
Speaker 1: I see Matt Stafford is I don’t even know. I’m

694
00:32:24,720 –> 00:32:26,720
Speaker 1: not cool enough to think of. Is it Van Diesel

695
00:32:26,920 –> 00:32:30,200
Speaker 1: or like Dwayne Johnson with their shirt off going, let’s

696
00:32:30,240 –> 00:32:32,840
Speaker 1: just go take their heart up like this. This is

697
00:32:32,840 –> 00:32:37,880
Speaker 1: Matt Stafford standing above Billy Graham Parkway with their shirt off, going,

698
00:32:38,200 –> 00:32:40,920
Speaker 1: let’s just take their heart out and home. That’s so

699
00:32:41,800 –> 00:32:44,120
Speaker 1: they’re the most comprehensive team in the league. I think

700
00:32:44,840 –> 00:32:47,040
Speaker 1: they just happened to the misfortunate of playing in the

701
00:32:47,040 –> 00:32:49,640
Speaker 1: best division this league has seen in a while, and

702
00:32:49,680 –> 00:32:51,200
Speaker 1: they’ve got to do it on the road, which would

703
00:32:51,240 –> 00:32:54,280
Speaker 1: be tough. But if they’re the one team that’s out

704
00:32:54,320 –> 00:32:58,440
Speaker 1: of my thesis of the top nine time of possession teams,

705
00:32:58,560 –> 00:33:01,400
Speaker 1: they’re not because they have a little more of a

706
00:33:01,440 –> 00:33:05,000
Speaker 1: high powered offense, but they’ve got a decent defense wrecked

707
00:33:05,000 –> 00:33:07,280
Speaker 1: a really good defense. So if there’s any team that

708
00:33:07,320 –> 00:33:09,240
Speaker 1: could pull it off as a wild card at Serams.

709
00:33:10,680 –> 00:33:12,560
Speaker 3: All right, now, I want to talk about the Bears

710
00:33:12,600 –> 00:33:15,680
Speaker 3: and the Packers. They meet again. They rarely played in

711
00:33:15,720 –> 00:33:18,880
Speaker 3: the playoffs. I grew up in Madison, Wisconsin, so I

712
00:33:18,960 –> 00:33:20,920
Speaker 3: was sort of right in between the two places. I

713
00:33:21,000 –> 00:33:24,720
Speaker 3: know how intense the rivalry is. Packers look great for

714
00:33:24,800 –> 00:33:27,239
Speaker 3: most of the game. The Bears not only did they

715
00:33:27,240 –> 00:33:29,280
Speaker 3: look bad, but I actually thought the way Caleb was

716
00:33:29,320 –> 00:33:32,320
Speaker 3: acting on the sideline was awful. He was pouting, he

717
00:33:32,400 –> 00:33:35,080
Speaker 3: was yelling at guys, but it didn’t look constructive. They

718
00:33:35,120 –> 00:33:37,720
Speaker 3: looked like a complete mess. Well, fast forward to the

719
00:33:37,760 –> 00:33:39,680
Speaker 3: end of the game, just like the Bears have done

720
00:33:39,720 –> 00:33:43,160
Speaker 3: all year, he turns it on and Caleb Williams looked

721
00:33:43,160 –> 00:33:45,080
Speaker 3: like a Hall of Famer in the fourth quarter. They

722
00:33:45,080 –> 00:33:48,600
Speaker 3: come back there down eighteen points. They beat their rivals.

723
00:33:48,880 –> 00:33:51,240
Speaker 3: And this season where I feel like the Bears were

724
00:33:51,360 –> 00:33:54,400
Speaker 3: the NFC version of the Broncos. We kept questioning are

725
00:33:54,400 –> 00:33:57,000
Speaker 3: they really any good? Well, the Bears in this game

726
00:33:57,000 –> 00:33:58,880
Speaker 3: both looked terrible and then at the end of the

727
00:33:58,880 –> 00:34:02,360
Speaker 3: game looked amazing. Caleb Williams has proven though, I think

728
00:34:02,360 –> 00:34:05,640
Speaker 3: that he belongs as a legit quarterback who can lead

729
00:34:05,640 –> 00:34:08,960
Speaker 3: a team in big moments. It was a great atmosphere

730
00:34:09,000 –> 00:34:11,880
Speaker 3: at Soldier Field. Would you guys take away from that

731
00:34:11,920 –> 00:34:13,640
Speaker 3: and what did you guys think of Caleb’s play?

732
00:34:14,400 –> 00:34:18,480
Speaker 2: Yeah, pretty amazing because that stadium was going nuts when

733
00:34:18,480 –> 00:34:20,719
Speaker 2: the game began, right, I mean, they haven’t hosted a

734
00:34:20,719 –> 00:34:23,640
Speaker 2: playoff game there in quite a while. But then the

735
00:34:23,680 –> 00:34:27,040
Speaker 2: Packers go on this early scoring barrage and it’s twenty

736
00:34:27,040 –> 00:34:29,319
Speaker 2: one to three or whatever, and they keep showing all

737
00:34:29,360 –> 00:34:32,080
Speaker 2: the Bears fans in the stands and they all look

738
00:34:32,200 –> 00:34:35,160
Speaker 2: just so sad, you know, like they were so excited,

739
00:34:35,160 –> 00:34:37,520
Speaker 2: like this was their moment, this was their opportunity. They’re

740
00:34:37,520 –> 00:34:39,160
Speaker 2: going to go beat the Packers, They’re going to advance

741
00:34:39,200 –> 00:34:41,040
Speaker 2: in the playoffs, and they’re going to be there to

742
00:34:41,080 –> 00:34:43,880
Speaker 2: see it first home playoff win in a long time.

743
00:34:44,280 –> 00:34:46,399
Speaker 2: And you could just see the pain in their faces right.

744
00:34:46,960 –> 00:34:49,959
Speaker 2: Well for the Bears, who are an overall pretty young team,

745
00:34:50,000 –> 00:34:51,840
Speaker 2: a team that hasn’t kind of experienced a lot of

746
00:34:51,880 –> 00:34:55,360
Speaker 2: success against the Green Bay Packers on the other side,

747
00:34:55,719 –> 00:34:58,440
Speaker 2: to come together and to find a way to win

748
00:34:58,520 –> 00:35:00,759
Speaker 2: that game is really cool. I first give a lot

749
00:35:00,800 –> 00:35:03,320
Speaker 2: of credit to the Bears defense. The Bears defense in

750
00:35:03,360 –> 00:35:06,160
Speaker 2: the second half was awesome, Like how they made the

751
00:35:06,200 –> 00:35:09,920
Speaker 2: adjustments to prevent Green Bay from doing hardly anything in

752
00:35:09,960 –> 00:35:11,640
Speaker 2: the second half when they were moving the ball at

753
00:35:11,640 –> 00:35:15,040
Speaker 2: will in the first half, and they opened the door

754
00:35:15,080 –> 00:35:17,840
Speaker 2: for the Bears offense to make something happen. And you know,

755
00:35:17,880 –> 00:35:20,879
Speaker 2: in the context of our conversation about Herbert earlier, again

756
00:35:20,920 –> 00:35:23,000
Speaker 2: we all agree Herbert is a really good player. But

757
00:35:23,080 –> 00:35:25,960
Speaker 2: the reality is in the games that matter the most,

758
00:35:26,000 –> 00:35:29,960
Speaker 2: he has not made plays. Caleb has had an up

759
00:35:29,960 –> 00:35:32,120
Speaker 2: and down season. At times he looks great. Other times

760
00:35:32,120 –> 00:35:34,280
Speaker 2: you’re like, I don’t know, but the guy made plays

761
00:35:34,280 –> 00:35:36,960
Speaker 2: when it mattered most. You know, that fourth down, I mean,

762
00:35:37,000 –> 00:35:39,680
Speaker 2: just incredible plays when it matters most. And that’s what

763
00:35:39,719 –> 00:35:42,319
Speaker 2: great quarterbacks are defined by. So I have all the

764
00:35:42,360 –> 00:35:44,319
Speaker 2: respect in the world for Caleb right now for going

765
00:35:44,320 –> 00:35:47,080
Speaker 2: out there and in a situation that seemed pretty dire,

766
00:35:47,160 –> 00:35:49,440
Speaker 2: to make some big time plays and big moments against

767
00:35:49,440 –> 00:35:52,040
Speaker 2: your hated rival and to advance in the playoffs. It’s

768
00:35:52,040 –> 00:35:54,560
Speaker 2: pretty cool to me. That’s what playoff football is all about.

769
00:35:54,840 –> 00:35:57,719
Speaker 3: It is one quick thing, that fourth down play. The

770
00:35:57,760 –> 00:35:59,680
Speaker 3: only other guy I think can make that throw actually

771
00:35:59,719 –> 00:36:03,400
Speaker 3: is Mahomes right the way his body was contorted and

772
00:36:03,480 –> 00:36:05,080
Speaker 3: be able to put the loft on it? Like I

773
00:36:05,200 –> 00:36:07,239
Speaker 3: was thinking, what other quarterback in league cold make that throw?

774
00:36:07,239 –> 00:36:09,160
Speaker 3: And the only guy could come up with was Mahomes

775
00:36:09,320 –> 00:36:11,600
Speaker 3: And I I’m sure you guys remember when Kayla was

776
00:36:11,640 –> 00:36:13,480
Speaker 3: coming out, there was a lot of comparisons and he

777
00:36:13,560 –> 00:36:16,440
Speaker 3: was like Mahomes, which I didn’t like that comparison, but

778
00:36:16,560 –> 00:36:19,919
Speaker 3: on that throw, he reminded me a lot of Number fifteen. Mitch,

779
00:36:19,960 –> 00:36:22,160
Speaker 3: what were your thoughts on the Bears and the Packers.

780
00:36:23,680 –> 00:36:26,920
Speaker 1: I live this because we were photoplankton here at the

781
00:36:26,920 –> 00:36:29,400
Speaker 1: bottom of the ocean, and then Andy Reid showed up

782
00:36:29,960 –> 00:36:31,680
Speaker 1: and the very next year we went nine to zero.

783
00:36:32,440 –> 00:36:34,520
Speaker 1: And we do a lot of metrics and analytics and

784
00:36:34,600 –> 00:36:37,600
Speaker 1: let’s look at things numerical and empirical. And then there

785
00:36:37,600 –> 00:36:40,040
Speaker 1: are some instances where a coach comes in and completely

786
00:36:40,120 –> 00:36:42,840
Speaker 1: change the mentality and demeanor of a team. We have

787
00:36:42,920 –> 00:36:45,919
Speaker 1: seen it with the Lions in years past. But then

788
00:36:46,360 –> 00:36:49,240
Speaker 1: we see what Ben Johnson has done to the Chicago Bears,

789
00:36:49,920 –> 00:36:52,120
Speaker 1: and all those fans were freaking out at halftime, going

790
00:36:52,120 –> 00:36:53,759
Speaker 1: We’re going to lose to the Packers again, and I

791
00:36:53,800 –> 00:36:56,080
Speaker 1: got to go face the packer guy at work, and

792
00:36:56,120 –> 00:36:59,480
Speaker 1: he’s going to bury me. Ben Johnson said, the heck

793
00:36:59,520 –> 00:37:02,960
Speaker 1: with that. He has changed the demeanor of that entire team.

794
00:37:03,040 –> 00:37:05,680
Speaker 1: That team now plays with an edge. Now, Caleb Williams.

795
00:37:07,040 –> 00:37:09,880
Speaker 1: My litmus test of quarterbacks and only a small sample

796
00:37:09,920 –> 00:37:12,319
Speaker 1: size of being in the league thirty two years, is

797
00:37:12,320 –> 00:37:14,759
Speaker 1: they have to do this ari Who can throw the

798
00:37:14,800 –> 00:37:18,560
Speaker 1: deep out with velocity? Who can throw the deep seven route,

799
00:37:18,600 –> 00:37:22,120
Speaker 1: the corner route with accuracy numbers to boundary? Who can

800
00:37:22,239 –> 00:37:25,520
Speaker 1: lead a team down four seventy five yards for a

801
00:37:25,600 –> 00:37:28,600
Speaker 1: touchdown not a field goal in four minutes or less?

802
00:37:29,200 –> 00:37:31,640
Speaker 1: Who can win a playoff game doing all those things?

803
00:37:31,920 –> 00:37:34,000
Speaker 1: And now all of a sudden, we’ve seen Caleb Williams

804
00:37:34,120 –> 00:37:38,839
Speaker 1: check those boxes off, which Justin Herbert has not. So

805
00:37:39,600 –> 00:37:41,879
Speaker 1: we’ve seen it, and he’s done it against the division rival.

806
00:37:41,920 –> 00:37:44,040
Speaker 1: Now he’s going to do it again. But to me,

807
00:37:44,160 –> 00:37:46,960
Speaker 1: that’s where that where my takeaways that and I’m a

808
00:37:47,000 –> 00:37:50,320
Speaker 1: small town guy. You can go to small town places

809
00:37:50,320 –> 00:37:54,560
Speaker 1: and find NFL players like Gooding, Idaho. How good is Loveland?

810
00:37:54,920 –> 00:37:58,280
Speaker 1: The Tiight ind Oh my god, Allri look up Gooding, Idaho.

811
00:37:58,360 –> 00:37:59,960
Speaker 1: That’s where this kid is from and even though he

812
00:38:00,120 –> 00:38:03,399
Speaker 1: went to Michigan, he’s from a small town, little Spurkustown

813
00:38:03,440 –> 00:38:06,279
Speaker 1: in Idaho, and the guys a stud If we had

814
00:38:06,360 –> 00:38:09,320
Speaker 1: him right now, we’d still be playing at that backdrop

815
00:38:09,400 –> 00:38:11,279
Speaker 1: behind you with the fireworks going off.

816
00:38:11,760 –> 00:38:14,160
Speaker 3: I’d like that. I’d like to just tag the one

817
00:38:14,200 –> 00:38:18,080
Speaker 3: of the little subplots with the Packers and the Bears,

818
00:38:18,400 –> 00:38:22,279
Speaker 3: the frosty frosty relationship between Matt Lafore Ben Johnson. Now

819
00:38:22,320 –> 00:38:24,719
Speaker 3: it seems that it’s more Ben doesn’t like Matt because

820
00:38:24,760 –> 00:38:27,160
Speaker 3: even when he became the head coach. If you remember

821
00:38:27,160 –> 00:38:30,319
Speaker 3: Ben’s initial press conference, he talked about his respect for,

822
00:38:30,440 –> 00:38:33,400
Speaker 3: you know, the other coaches in the NFC North and

823
00:38:33,440 –> 00:38:35,680
Speaker 3: he said, but I sure like beating Matt Lafour twice

824
00:38:35,680 –> 00:38:38,480
Speaker 3: a year. And their handshake. I’ve seen some quick handshakes

825
00:38:38,520 –> 00:38:40,520
Speaker 3: in apposed game. That was about as fast a pit

826
00:38:40,640 –> 00:38:43,480
Speaker 3: stop as I’ve ever seen between two head coaches at

827
00:38:43,480 –> 00:38:45,120
Speaker 3: the end of a playoff game. That to me, just

828
00:38:45,200 –> 00:38:48,279
Speaker 3: adds to the spiciness of the robbery. Well, let’s put

829
00:38:48,320 –> 00:38:50,000
Speaker 3: one of the games.

830
00:38:50,920 –> 00:38:53,520
Speaker 1: Let’s put it this way. Ben Johnson was slated to

831
00:38:53,560 –> 00:38:56,160
Speaker 1: be the keynote speaker at the Chipwa Falls Chamber of

832
00:38:56,160 –> 00:39:00,680
Speaker 1: Commerce that got canceled. So you know how you know

833
00:39:00,800 –> 00:39:04,000
Speaker 1: how difficult it’s on? Baby that right, it’s on.

834
00:39:04,239 –> 00:39:06,160
Speaker 3: I love it. It’s still good for the rivalry, all right.

835
00:39:06,200 –> 00:39:08,080
Speaker 3: I want to touch on one of the other wildcard games.

836
00:39:08,280 –> 00:39:10,080
Speaker 3: You know, the Bills and Josh Allen have just been

837
00:39:10,120 –> 00:39:11,959
Speaker 3: such a big part of all of our lives because

838
00:39:11,960 –> 00:39:14,840
Speaker 3: of the rivalry with the Chiefs. When this game I

839
00:39:14,880 –> 00:39:17,400
Speaker 3: looked at, I was like to play, Jacksonville is red hot.

840
00:39:17,480 –> 00:39:19,879
Speaker 3: This is a young team playing with great energy, They’re

841
00:39:19,920 –> 00:39:22,120
Speaker 3: playing at home. And then I just kept coming back

842
00:39:22,160 –> 00:39:25,040
Speaker 3: to the other team’s got Josh Allen. Despite whatever else

843
00:39:25,120 –> 00:39:27,160
Speaker 3: is going off with the Bills, I thought, this is

844
00:39:27,239 –> 00:39:29,520
Speaker 3: Josh Allen’s game. Well, in the end, it came down

845
00:39:29,560 –> 00:39:32,880
Speaker 3: to that Josh Allen willed his team to victory, and

846
00:39:32,960 –> 00:39:35,040
Speaker 3: the team that wanted to ban the tush push had

847
00:39:35,040 –> 00:39:38,360
Speaker 3: the best nine yard tush push I’ve ever seen. I

848
00:39:38,400 –> 00:39:40,600
Speaker 3: think the Bills are actually the team to beat because

849
00:39:40,640 –> 00:39:42,680
Speaker 3: of Josh Allen, but I thought they had to get

850
00:39:42,680 –> 00:39:46,160
Speaker 3: by Jacksonville first. It was a great football game. I

851
00:39:46,160 –> 00:39:48,719
Speaker 3: think Jacksonville fans should be bullish on their future. I

852
00:39:48,760 –> 00:39:51,239
Speaker 3: think what Liam Cohen did turning around the team. There’s

853
00:39:51,280 –> 00:39:53,000
Speaker 3: a lot to be excited about. But in the end,

854
00:39:53,520 –> 00:39:56,440
Speaker 3: it was Josh Allen getting his first road playoff victory.

855
00:39:56,440 –> 00:39:59,040
Speaker 3: He’s had some heartbreaking losses, in particular at the place

856
00:39:59,120 –> 00:40:01,880
Speaker 3: behind me. What’d you guys think of Josh Allen? And

857
00:40:01,920 –> 00:40:04,000
Speaker 3: do you think the Bills are real contender to win

858
00:40:04,040 –> 00:40:04,640
Speaker 3: the Super Bowl?

859
00:40:05,200 –> 00:40:07,120
Speaker 2: Well, all right, when we’ve been talking about this over

860
00:40:07,160 –> 00:40:09,480
Speaker 2: the last several weeks, this is why I could just

861
00:40:09,560 –> 00:40:13,640
Speaker 2: never write the Bills off because I’ve seen enough of

862
00:40:13,719 –> 00:40:16,760
Speaker 2: playoff Josh Allen and it’s often been on the losing

863
00:40:16,840 –> 00:40:21,080
Speaker 2: end against us. But he’s a spectacular player who makes

864
00:40:21,080 –> 00:40:22,960
Speaker 2: plays at big time moments, and I can just not

865
00:40:23,040 –> 00:40:25,440
Speaker 2: write him off in a playoff game. Now, I’ll give

866
00:40:25,480 –> 00:40:28,440
Speaker 2: him some credit too, because one thing that’s kind of

867
00:40:28,440 –> 00:40:30,799
Speaker 2: been lost over the years is I do think that

868
00:40:31,200 –> 00:40:33,640
Speaker 2: people make a lot of excuses for Josh that ow

869
00:40:33,719 –> 00:40:35,799
Speaker 2: his defense give up this many points and this and that,

870
00:40:35,840 –> 00:40:39,160
Speaker 2: and that’s true. But if you look at the game

871
00:40:39,360 –> 00:40:41,839
Speaker 2: that we had in Orchard Park a couple of years

872
00:40:41,880 –> 00:40:45,879
Speaker 2: ago and the AFC Championship game last year, he had

873
00:40:45,880 –> 00:40:47,439
Speaker 2: the ball with a chance to win and he didn’t

874
00:40:47,440 –> 00:40:49,440
Speaker 2: get it done. I’ll give him credit in this game.

875
00:40:50,040 –> 00:40:52,359
Speaker 2: He had the ball, his team was down, he had

876
00:40:52,400 –> 00:40:53,799
Speaker 2: to drive the length of the field to get it

877
00:40:53,840 –> 00:40:56,080
Speaker 2: done on the road, and he did it. So I’ll

878
00:40:56,080 –> 00:40:58,200
Speaker 2: give him a lot of credit there that with a

879
00:40:58,200 –> 00:41:00,880
Speaker 2: lot of pressure on Buffalo this year, he found a

880
00:41:00,880 –> 00:41:03,000
Speaker 2: way to get it done in that game. Now doesn’t

881
00:41:03,000 –> 00:41:06,000
Speaker 2: get any easier, not going to Denver, but yeah, I

882
00:41:06,000 –> 00:41:08,399
Speaker 2: can never write off Josh Allen and the Bills, and

883
00:41:08,440 –> 00:41:10,280
Speaker 2: I think it’s going to be an awesome game on Saturday.

884
00:41:10,440 –> 00:41:12,360
Speaker 1: I was really kind of surprised how good the Bills

885
00:41:12,440 –> 00:41:15,080
Speaker 1: defense played. Not that they shut down the Jags, but

886
00:41:15,400 –> 00:41:18,200
Speaker 1: they were good enough. And that’s been the achilles heel

887
00:41:18,239 –> 00:41:22,040
Speaker 1: for that team right especially in the secondary. But they

888
00:41:22,120 –> 00:41:25,880
Speaker 1: played playoff decent football. And the fact that the Bills

889
00:41:25,920 –> 00:41:29,239
Speaker 1: won without James Cook doing much at all was the

890
00:41:29,239 –> 00:41:31,319
Speaker 1: fact that it gives it even more of a testimony

891
00:41:31,719 –> 00:41:34,239
Speaker 1: to Josh Allen. His ability to make those plays He’s

892
00:41:34,320 –> 00:41:39,120
Speaker 1: throwing to haves coverage at the near side boundary on

893
00:41:39,160 –> 00:41:41,520
Speaker 1: the last drive was like, Okay, that was mahomes in.

894
00:41:42,080 –> 00:41:44,800
Speaker 1: And so in this world of the playoffs where it

895
00:41:44,840 –> 00:41:48,279
Speaker 1: seems to be so incredibly tight and now here’s Josh

896
00:41:48,360 –> 00:41:50,440
Speaker 1: Allen playing a quarterback this week who’s never won a

897
00:41:50,440 –> 00:41:53,239
Speaker 1: playoff game yet came to you check the box, you

898
00:41:53,280 –> 00:41:57,759
Speaker 1: can’t check the box. And Josh Allen is He’s just

899
00:41:57,920 –> 00:42:00,279
Speaker 1: very interesting to watch in this playoffs because in the

900
00:42:00,280 –> 00:42:02,080
Speaker 1: back of his mind he’s not saying it, but the

901
00:42:02,080 –> 00:42:04,560
Speaker 1: door has flown open for him, even though he’s going

902
00:42:04,640 –> 00:42:05,879
Speaker 1: to take the road path too.

903
00:42:06,680 –> 00:42:09,480
Speaker 2: And Ario, I’ll add one more thing, So the injury

904
00:42:09,480 –> 00:42:12,400
Speaker 2: report every week will say the player’s name and then

905
00:42:12,440 –> 00:42:15,080
Speaker 2: the injury next to him for what they’re receiving treatment for.

906
00:42:15,520 –> 00:42:17,520
Speaker 2: I imagine the injury report this week is going to

907
00:42:17,560 –> 00:42:22,600
Speaker 2: have Josh Allen listed for a foot, neck, ribs leg.

908
00:42:22,719 –> 00:42:25,120
Speaker 2: I mean, he had every single injury you could ever

909
00:42:25,200 –> 00:42:27,719
Speaker 2: imagine in that game against Jacksonville, and the dude just

910
00:42:27,800 –> 00:42:30,600
Speaker 2: kept finding ways to move the football down the field.

911
00:42:30,680 –> 00:42:33,160
Speaker 2: So you know, you don’t have to ask anybody. We

912
00:42:33,160 –> 00:42:36,680
Speaker 2: have an immense respect for Josh Allen. We’ve been enjoyed

913
00:42:36,680 –> 00:42:39,239
Speaker 2: beating him over the years. But really good player and

914
00:42:39,320 –> 00:42:40,840
Speaker 2: I think he has as good a chance as anybody

915
00:42:40,920 –> 00:42:41,799
Speaker 2: to go in the whole thing.

916
00:42:42,719 –> 00:42:44,479
Speaker 3: And when he was at Wyoming, I called a couple

917
00:42:44,480 –> 00:42:47,120
Speaker 3: of his games. Maybe a different guy today, but I

918
00:42:47,200 –> 00:42:49,520
Speaker 3: found him to be down to earth, just a regular guy,

919
00:42:49,600 –> 00:42:52,879
Speaker 3: like a small town America guy. He fit great in Laramie.

920
00:42:53,040 –> 00:42:55,440
Speaker 3: So I just think that it’s, you know, when he’s

921
00:42:55,480 –> 00:42:58,080
Speaker 3: not playing the Chiefs, he’s a guy who I feel

922
00:42:58,080 –> 00:43:00,360
Speaker 3: good about rooting for because I think he’s, you just

923
00:43:00,400 –> 00:43:03,120
Speaker 3: represent my values in the sense he’s like a good guy.

924
00:43:03,239 –> 00:43:07,200
Speaker 1: So anyway, firing off California, baby fireball, California grew up

925
00:43:07,200 –> 00:43:10,879
Speaker 1: on a ranch, he was an FFA.

926
00:43:09,600 –> 00:43:11,719
Speaker 3: So the other games just quickly touched on. I thought

927
00:43:11,760 –> 00:43:15,280
Speaker 3: the Niners and Kyle Shanahan deserve a ton of credit.

928
00:43:15,600 –> 00:43:18,040
Speaker 3: They out coached. I felt like the Eagles that trick play,

929
00:43:18,080 –> 00:43:21,320
Speaker 3: the Eagles defense look lost against a Vic Fangio defense.

930
00:43:22,000 –> 00:43:23,399
Speaker 3: And then I want to talk a little bit more

931
00:43:23,440 –> 00:43:26,520
Speaker 3: about the ramifications of the Pittsburgh loss only because of

932
00:43:26,520 –> 00:43:30,000
Speaker 3: what we’ve learned since Mike Tomlin stepping down as the

933
00:43:30,000 –> 00:43:32,400
Speaker 3: Steelers coach. So now we’re looking at three of the

934
00:43:32,400 –> 00:43:34,319
Speaker 3: four teams in the AFC North are looking for a

935
00:43:34,360 –> 00:43:36,480
Speaker 3: head coach, so that whole division is going to look

936
00:43:36,520 –> 00:43:39,200
Speaker 3: a lot different. We know Harbaugh is going to get

937
00:43:39,239 –> 00:43:42,480
Speaker 3: another job because he’s openly already interviewing. What do you

938
00:43:42,480 –> 00:43:45,000
Speaker 3: guys think is next for Mike Tomlin, because clearly a

939
00:43:45,000 –> 00:43:48,279
Speaker 3: lot of franchises would covet having a guy with his experience,

940
00:43:48,560 –> 00:43:51,799
Speaker 3: his toughness, his leadership. Or is he going to head

941
00:43:51,800 –> 00:43:53,680
Speaker 3: to TV? Is he going to take a year off? Like,

942
00:43:53,760 –> 00:43:55,720
Speaker 3: I don’t know, I don’t know how to feel about

943
00:43:55,719 –> 00:43:58,680
Speaker 3: what’s going on with Mike Tomlin and the Steelers. And

944
00:43:59,040 –> 00:44:01,360
Speaker 3: somebody suggested to me earlier today, why don’t they just

945
00:44:01,360 –> 00:44:04,319
Speaker 3: both flip jobs? Why doesn’t Harbaugh go to Pittsford and

946
00:44:04,560 –> 00:44:07,799
Speaker 3: Tomalin go to Baltimore? Because the cultures are pretty similar? Right?

947
00:44:08,200 –> 00:44:10,560
Speaker 1: What’s what I texted? I texted math that last.

948
00:44:10,400 –> 00:44:12,640
Speaker 3: Year in bad weather? So what do you guys think?

949
00:44:12,960 –> 00:44:15,319
Speaker 1: Yeah, I texted math that last night right away when

950
00:44:15,320 –> 00:44:15,799
Speaker 1: I saw it.

951
00:44:16,680 –> 00:44:22,759
Speaker 2: Did the Steelers still have Tomlin’s rights because he stepped down?

952
00:44:23,680 –> 00:44:24,160
Speaker 2: It could be.

953
00:44:24,320 –> 00:44:26,279
Speaker 3: I don’t know the particulars of that.

954
00:44:26,560 –> 00:44:29,480
Speaker 2: So I saw this on Twitter. Yeah, so I don’t

955
00:44:29,520 –> 00:44:30,920
Speaker 2: know this for a fact. I just saw it on

956
00:44:30,960 –> 00:44:33,799
Speaker 2: Twitter and I’m now just running with it. But if

957
00:44:33,800 –> 00:44:36,239
Speaker 2: the Steelers still possess his rights, it could be like

958
00:44:36,280 –> 00:44:39,520
Speaker 2: a Sean Payton situation where he could take a year

959
00:44:39,560 –> 00:44:44,399
Speaker 2: off and then he could be traded essentially. I don’t

960
00:44:44,440 –> 00:44:46,640
Speaker 2: know the specifics of it, but if that’s the case,

961
00:44:46,640 –> 00:44:49,840
Speaker 2: I think that would rule out a Baltimore head coaching

962
00:44:49,880 –> 00:44:51,520
Speaker 2: gig for Tomlin, right.

963
00:44:52,000 –> 00:44:55,120
Speaker 1: What I that and the fact that John Harbaugh’s out there,

964
00:44:55,640 –> 00:44:57,960
Speaker 1: it’s very It reminds me again of Andy Reid being

965
00:44:57,960 –> 00:45:03,160
Speaker 1: available on December one, twenty twelve. You’ve got two guys

966
00:45:03,200 –> 00:45:06,319
Speaker 1: that are accomplished Super Bowl champion head coaches that are

967
00:45:06,360 –> 00:45:08,760
Speaker 1: out there. I think what it’s done, there’s a ripple

968
00:45:08,760 –> 00:45:11,480
Speaker 1: effect of this. It slowed down a lot of these

969
00:45:11,520 –> 00:45:15,279
Speaker 1: other searches that these teams that are searching now are going,

970
00:45:15,320 –> 00:45:17,480
Speaker 1: wait a minute, those two guys are available. Now if

971
00:45:17,520 –> 00:45:20,880
Speaker 1: I’ve got a trade to get Tomlin, that might cool

972
00:45:20,880 –> 00:45:22,880
Speaker 1: the jets on that a bit, but I still might

973
00:45:22,920 –> 00:45:25,279
Speaker 1: go ahead and forge ahead and do it because both

974
00:45:25,280 –> 00:45:28,240
Speaker 1: those guys we know are Hall of Fame caliber coaches.

975
00:45:28,360 –> 00:45:32,600
Speaker 1: It’s a very interesting dynamic the fact, and you’re going

976
00:45:32,640 –> 00:45:35,080
Speaker 1: to see a ripple effect of those two guys in

977
00:45:35,120 –> 00:45:38,160
Speaker 1: what happens with them first, because it seems like they

978
00:45:38,200 –> 00:45:41,000
Speaker 1: flow to the top of the chart. For sure.

979
00:45:41,160 –> 00:45:43,280
Speaker 3: I thought it was interesting because I guess my first

980
00:45:43,280 –> 00:45:46,000
Speaker 3: instinct said, if I’m John Harbaugh, I want to go

981
00:45:46,040 –> 00:45:49,680
Speaker 3: to a team that has a franchise caliber quarterback that

982
00:45:49,719 –> 00:45:51,319
Speaker 3: can lead to a Super Bowl. So when he did

983
00:45:51,360 –> 00:45:54,279
Speaker 3: his first interview in Atlanta, that confused me. I don’t

984
00:45:54,320 –> 00:45:57,719
Speaker 3: see Atlanta, given their quarterback situation, as being ready to

985
00:45:57,760 –> 00:45:59,920
Speaker 3: be an elite team. So it’d be interesting to see

986
00:46:00,040 –> 00:46:02,160
Speaker 3: where that all pans out. But to have these kind

987
00:46:02,160 –> 00:46:04,080
Speaker 3: of coaches available, I was going to make for a

988
00:46:04,200 –> 00:46:06,919
Speaker 3: very fun coaching season, all right.

989
00:46:07,200 –> 00:46:10,760
Speaker 1: And gonna add to that, I think with both those guys,

990
00:46:10,840 –> 00:46:14,320
Speaker 1: the GM combo here is big, was it Lanta? I

991
00:46:14,360 –> 00:46:16,480
Speaker 1: mean the GM jobs being open, I would do that

992
00:46:16,760 –> 00:46:19,279
Speaker 1: first when GM jobs are open, where all of a

993
00:46:19,320 –> 00:46:21,399
Speaker 1: sudden he brings kind of his own guy in there.

994
00:46:21,719 –> 00:46:24,440
Speaker 1: Because both of those guys have had they have not

995
00:46:24,520 –> 00:46:27,799
Speaker 1: had acrimonis. They’ve had good relationships with their GMS, and

996
00:46:27,800 –> 00:46:31,239
Speaker 1: that’s been a part of being eighteen and nineteen years together. Yeah.

997
00:46:31,440 –> 00:46:33,440
Speaker 2: Just keep them both away from the Raiders, please, That’s

998
00:46:33,480 –> 00:46:34,200
Speaker 2: what I would prefer.

999
00:46:35,000 –> 00:46:36,759
Speaker 3: Fair enough, all right, So the first game I want to

1000
00:46:36,760 –> 00:46:40,279
Speaker 3: talk about, Wildcard Weekend features the Bills and the Broncos.

1001
00:46:40,320 –> 00:46:43,399
Speaker 3: This to me is a really interesting game because you’ve

1002
00:46:43,400 –> 00:46:46,840
Speaker 3: got an unproven second year quarterback the number one seed

1003
00:46:46,920 –> 00:46:50,880
Speaker 3: playing at home in bo Nick’s taking on Josh Allen,

1004
00:46:50,920 –> 00:46:54,400
Speaker 3: who has tons of playoff experience. My instinct tells me

1005
00:46:54,480 –> 00:46:57,040
Speaker 3: to go with the better quarterback when I’m undecided, and this,

1006
00:46:57,120 –> 00:47:00,440
Speaker 3: to me is not a particularly challenging decision. I think

1007
00:47:00,480 –> 00:47:03,400
Speaker 3: the Bills win an upset, but I’ve also underestimated the

1008
00:47:03,400 –> 00:47:06,280
Speaker 3: Broncos all year at my own peril. I thought Sean

1009
00:47:06,320 –> 00:47:08,120
Speaker 3: Payton was out of line at the beginning of the

1010
00:47:08,200 –> 00:47:10,359
Speaker 3: year calling them an a lead team that was super

1011
00:47:10,360 –> 00:47:12,680
Speaker 3: Bowl bound, and I was humbled. He was right.

1012
00:47:12,760 –> 00:47:13,360
Speaker 2: I was wrong.

1013
00:47:13,920 –> 00:47:16,000
Speaker 3: What do you guys think about this matchup? With the

1014
00:47:16,000 –> 00:47:19,560
Speaker 3: Bills going to Denver playing up in altitude this weekend

1015
00:47:19,560 –> 00:47:20,640
Speaker 3: in the divisional.

1016
00:47:20,280 –> 00:47:23,960
Speaker 2: Round, I’m curious if the Broncos can commit to running

1017
00:47:23,960 –> 00:47:27,960
Speaker 2: the football. If they run the football and they shortened

1018
00:47:28,040 –> 00:47:30,360
Speaker 2: the game, I think they have an opportunity to win it.

1019
00:47:30,640 –> 00:47:32,200
Speaker 2: But at the end of the day, I think if

1020
00:47:32,239 –> 00:47:34,680
Speaker 2: it’s a close game, you know, like you were saying earlier,

1021
00:47:34,719 –> 00:47:36,600
Speaker 2: the Broncos have won all these close games this year.

1022
00:47:36,719 –> 00:47:38,600
Speaker 2: If it’s a close game, I think Josh Allen will

1023
00:47:38,600 –> 00:47:39,360
Speaker 2: find a way to win it.

1024
00:47:39,400 –> 00:47:43,000
Speaker 1: In the end, both of these teams play the same way.

1025
00:47:43,520 –> 00:47:46,080
Speaker 1: It goes back to the way the league has changed

1026
00:47:46,120 –> 00:47:49,160
Speaker 1: these guys. Broncos were six in time in possession for

1027
00:47:49,200 –> 00:47:50,959
Speaker 1: the season, but a lot of that was skewed. Their

1028
00:47:51,000 –> 00:47:54,279
Speaker 1: defense wasn’t as dominant at the end, and Buffalo is

1029
00:47:54,360 –> 00:47:57,120
Speaker 1: number one. The margin of this thing is so slight,

1030
00:47:57,680 –> 00:48:00,440
Speaker 1: meaning who gets in the red zone and gets a touchuchdown.

1031
00:48:01,800 –> 00:48:05,400
Speaker 1: The Broncos red zone defense is ridiculously good. And if

1032
00:48:05,480 –> 00:48:07,960
Speaker 1: Josh Allen has any kryptonite we both talk about this

1033
00:48:08,120 –> 00:48:10,880
Speaker 1: Matt and I or is his red zone turnovers. Sometimes

1034
00:48:10,920 –> 00:48:15,520
Speaker 1: he’ll try to superman something in there. But this is

1035
00:48:15,560 –> 00:48:17,640
Speaker 1: a razor thin margin. Both teams are going to try

1036
00:48:17,640 –> 00:48:20,840
Speaker 1: to play the same way. First downs are touchdowns in

1037
00:48:20,880 –> 00:48:23,680
Speaker 1: this game. So if you’ve got to make me go

1038
00:48:23,719 –> 00:48:26,000
Speaker 1: to the edge one way, it would be with the

1039
00:48:26,080 –> 00:48:29,359
Speaker 1: experienced quarterback, but not by much. This is a This

1040
00:48:29,400 –> 00:48:32,240
Speaker 1: is a razor thin margin in this game.

1041
00:48:32,760 –> 00:48:34,800
Speaker 3: I agree with you there all right. Next up forty

1042
00:48:34,880 –> 00:48:38,440
Speaker 3: nine Ers and the Seahawks. You know they just played

1043
00:48:38,719 –> 00:48:41,640
Speaker 3: to decide the number one seed. That game was in

1044
00:48:41,680 –> 00:48:46,040
Speaker 3: San Francisco. It was dominated defensively by Seattle. Now know

1045
00:48:46,200 –> 00:48:49,560
Speaker 3: George Kittle for the forty nine ers, but for someone

1046
00:48:49,680 –> 00:48:53,759
Speaker 3: tells me that the Shanahan factor will He’s going to

1047
00:48:53,840 –> 00:48:56,480
Speaker 3: have something where his offense is going to be competitive?

1048
00:48:56,600 –> 00:48:57,840
Speaker 3: Is it going to be enough to win on the

1049
00:48:57,880 –> 00:49:00,840
Speaker 3: road in a raucus place. It’s just because the pressure

1050
00:49:00,880 –> 00:49:04,120
Speaker 3: is now on Seattle, it’s not on San Francisco. I

1051
00:49:04,120 –> 00:49:07,600
Speaker 3: think Shanahan, besides Super Bowls, is one of the best

1052
00:49:07,600 –> 00:49:10,319
Speaker 3: coaches in the National Football League. I actually give the

1053
00:49:10,400 –> 00:49:12,920
Speaker 3: Niners a chance, even though they’re considered big underdogs.

1054
00:49:13,160 –> 00:49:16,160
Speaker 2: What’s your take, Yeah, I think they certainly have a chance.

1055
00:49:16,200 –> 00:49:19,480
Speaker 2: I mean they’ve kind of been somehow overcoming the odds

1056
00:49:19,520 –> 00:49:23,080
Speaker 2: all season, losing you know, every household name they have

1057
00:49:23,120 –> 00:49:26,200
Speaker 2: at some point and finding a way. I still think

1058
00:49:26,200 –> 00:49:28,879
Speaker 2: Seattle is just playing such good football right now. Their

1059
00:49:28,920 –> 00:49:33,239
Speaker 2: defense is tremendous, and then offensively. You know, when you

1060
00:49:33,280 –> 00:49:35,560
Speaker 2: and I talk, I’ve been kind of hard on Sam

1061
00:49:35,640 –> 00:49:38,680
Speaker 2: Darnold over the course of the season, but he’s done

1062
00:49:38,760 –> 00:49:41,040
Speaker 2: enough to get them in this position in the season

1063
00:49:41,040 –> 00:49:44,680
Speaker 2: that Jackson Smith and Jigba’s having just really difficult to

1064
00:49:44,680 –> 00:49:46,680
Speaker 2: slow a guy like that down at home in a

1065
00:49:46,719 –> 00:49:49,239
Speaker 2: game like this, So I think the Niners have done

1066
00:49:49,280 –> 00:49:51,479
Speaker 2: a great job of piecing this thing together to find

1067
00:49:51,520 –> 00:49:54,520
Speaker 2: a way to be in this moment, but especially losing

1068
00:49:54,560 –> 00:49:56,840
Speaker 2: Kittle last week, I just don’t know if they have

1069
00:49:56,880 –> 00:49:59,120
Speaker 2: the offense to get it done against that Seattle defense.

1070
00:50:00,000 –> 00:50:03,880
Speaker 1: Seattle defense, Piranha, the forty nine Ers couldn’t breathe in

1071
00:50:03,880 –> 00:50:06,760
Speaker 1: that game in Week eighteen, they could not find a breath.

1072
00:50:07,160 –> 00:50:09,600
Speaker 1: I think they’ll take his play sheet and just rip

1073
00:50:09,640 –> 00:50:12,279
Speaker 1: it to shreds and laminate it and all it. They’ll

1074
00:50:12,320 –> 00:50:14,879
Speaker 1: just eat it right in front of him. I mean,

1075
00:50:15,360 –> 00:50:19,440
Speaker 1: if unless Seattle does something’s incredibly stupid and darnold just

1076
00:50:19,800 –> 00:50:22,239
Speaker 1: you know, does a Viking game of a year ago

1077
00:50:22,320 –> 00:50:26,080
Speaker 1: in the playoffs. This this Seattle defense is elite and

1078
00:50:26,120 –> 00:50:27,400
Speaker 1: they dominate this game.

1079
00:50:28,040 –> 00:50:30,680
Speaker 3: Copy that, all right? Moving on, this is one that

1080
00:50:30,719 –> 00:50:34,120
Speaker 3: I’m very undecided on the Texans in that defense. It’s

1081
00:50:34,239 –> 00:50:36,640
Speaker 3: just looks so good since the start of the second

1082
00:50:36,719 –> 00:50:39,759
Speaker 3: half of the season. Taking on a Patriots team that

1083
00:50:39,840 –> 00:50:42,640
Speaker 3: you know, look really solid in their win against to Chargers.

1084
00:50:42,880 –> 00:50:45,320
Speaker 3: The games in New England, it’s going to be cold,

1085
00:50:46,360 –> 00:50:48,640
Speaker 3: you know. My instinct actually tells me the Texans win.

1086
00:50:48,880 –> 00:50:51,880
Speaker 3: They have more playoff experience. That defense is going to

1087
00:50:51,920 –> 00:50:56,040
Speaker 3: give Drake may some problems, but I’m trying to factor in,

1088
00:50:56,080 –> 00:50:58,560
Speaker 3: you know, the home field advantage. I think it’s significant.

1089
00:50:58,560 –> 00:51:00,600
Speaker 3: But boy that the Texans team didn’t seem to be

1090
00:51:00,600 –> 00:51:04,400
Speaker 3: bothered playing in Pittsburgh on Monday night. So I’m leading Texans.

1091
00:51:04,480 –> 00:51:05,319
Speaker 3: What do you guys think?

1092
00:51:05,680 –> 00:51:09,319
Speaker 2: Give me the Texans? Sorry, that defense is unbelievable. I

1093
00:51:09,320 –> 00:51:13,120
Speaker 2: think so Hunter and Anderson get a lot of credit,

1094
00:51:13,160 –> 00:51:15,400
Speaker 2: and that’s kind of what everyone talks about with their defense,

1095
00:51:15,440 –> 00:51:17,880
Speaker 2: and deservingly so. I think it’s the best tandem of

1096
00:51:17,880 –> 00:51:20,760
Speaker 2: pass rushers in the NFL. But that’s just where it starts.

1097
00:51:21,040 –> 00:51:24,000
Speaker 2: I mean, their linebacker corps is awesome, and their secondary,

1098
00:51:24,040 –> 00:51:26,439
Speaker 2: I think is the best secondary in football. I mean,

1099
00:51:26,760 –> 00:51:29,680
Speaker 2: up and down the list, guys like Jalen Peatrie, always

1100
00:51:29,719 –> 00:51:33,680
Speaker 2: around the ball, always flying in there, making plays, Lassiter Bullock,

1101
00:51:34,200 –> 00:51:37,600
Speaker 2: Derek Stingley just really good players up and down that

1102
00:51:37,800 –> 00:51:40,960
Speaker 2: Texans defense. And I mean the Steelers had no chance

1103
00:51:41,000 –> 00:51:42,719
Speaker 2: in that game offensively.

1104
00:51:42,920 –> 00:51:43,080
Speaker 1: Now.

1105
00:51:43,120 –> 00:51:45,120
Speaker 2: The only thing that makes it kind of an equalizer

1106
00:51:45,440 –> 00:51:48,480
Speaker 2: is Stroud has got to play better. And Stroud’s performance

1107
00:51:48,560 –> 00:51:50,920
Speaker 2: was the only reason the Steelers even had a chance

1108
00:51:50,920 –> 00:51:53,640
Speaker 2: in that game at all the turnovers. If Stroud can

1109
00:51:53,800 –> 00:51:56,440
Speaker 2: just even just be like a game manager to protect

1110
00:51:56,440 –> 00:52:00,440
Speaker 2: the football, hopefully Nico Collins can play. Didn’t good with

1111
00:52:00,520 –> 00:52:03,279
Speaker 2: that concussion. But even if he can’t play, as long

1112
00:52:03,320 –> 00:52:05,720
Speaker 2: as he can protect the football, We’ve seen that defense

1113
00:52:05,760 –> 00:52:09,000
Speaker 2: can score for him if they need to. So I

1114
00:52:09,040 –> 00:52:10,920
Speaker 2: think the Texans are going to win this game just

1115
00:52:10,920 –> 00:52:13,280
Speaker 2: because that defense I think is the best defense in football.

1116
00:52:13,440 –> 00:52:15,239
Speaker 2: It reminds me of the Legion of Boom defense with

1117
00:52:15,320 –> 00:52:19,120
Speaker 2: the Seahawks ten years ago. They’re just really impressive. And

1118
00:52:19,760 –> 00:52:22,000
Speaker 2: as long as Stroud does not turn the ball over

1119
00:52:22,080 –> 00:52:23,920
Speaker 2: three times, I think the Texans win this game.

1120
00:52:24,719 –> 00:52:27,760
Speaker 1: I talked about Ben Johnson being transformational with the Bears.

1121
00:52:28,200 –> 00:52:31,480
Speaker 1: Mike Vrabel is the AFC version of that. That team

1122
00:52:31,600 –> 00:52:36,480
Speaker 1: plays with a edge every snap in every phase. Watch

1123
00:52:36,520 –> 00:52:39,399
Speaker 1: him in special teams. They just go one hundred miles

1124
00:52:39,440 –> 00:52:44,399
Speaker 1: an hour. And I’m so impressed with rapes. Houston has

1125
00:52:44,480 –> 00:52:47,759
Speaker 1: more talent. I am worried about the Collins concussion. I

1126
00:52:47,840 –> 00:52:50,359
Speaker 1: don’t know. I don’t know if Christian Kirk can pull

1127
00:52:50,400 –> 00:52:52,799
Speaker 1: together another one hundred and thirty yards against that New

1128
00:52:52,800 –> 00:52:56,960
Speaker 1: England defense. But then I go back to Houston’s defense

1129
00:52:57,080 –> 00:53:00,759
Speaker 1: is enough to win this game. Again, another thin game,

1130
00:53:00,800 –> 00:53:04,359
Speaker 1: and I’ll go with Houston by a nose. But New

1131
00:53:04,400 –> 00:53:07,640
Speaker 1: England is fun to watch play. Yeah, And I know

1132
00:53:07,680 –> 00:53:10,239
Speaker 1: we all had this. You know we all have this. Oh,

1133
00:53:10,280 –> 00:53:12,319
Speaker 1: I hated New England in the past. I don’t hate

1134
00:53:12,360 –> 00:53:14,760
Speaker 1: this team. In fact, I enjoy watching them.

1135
00:53:15,120 –> 00:53:17,239
Speaker 3: Well, that’s why I was explaining to my kids the

1136
00:53:17,280 –> 00:53:19,480
Speaker 3: other day. They were they were like, you used to

1137
00:53:19,520 –> 00:53:23,840
Speaker 3: hate the Patriots. Dad, That’s the old evil empire with

1138
00:53:23,920 –> 00:53:26,360
Speaker 3: Bill Belichick and when Brady was there. This is a

1139
00:53:26,440 –> 00:53:28,640
Speaker 3: new bunch with Rabel and this team and Drake May

1140
00:53:28,680 –> 00:53:30,480
Speaker 3: they’re kind of they’re fun to watch. I found myself

1141
00:53:30,560 –> 00:53:32,880
Speaker 3: rooting for the Patriots, which was Yeah, I felt like

1142
00:53:32,920 –> 00:53:36,560
Speaker 3: a new thing to root for the Patriots after to

1143
00:53:36,640 –> 00:53:38,520
Speaker 3: the final game of the Division round of the one

1144
00:53:38,520 –> 00:53:40,880
Speaker 3: I frankly think is the most interesting. You’ve got the Rams,

1145
00:53:40,920 –> 00:53:43,399
Speaker 3: so I think we all agree is the most It’s

1146
00:53:43,440 –> 00:53:46,719
Speaker 3: the most talented team across the board. They have everything.

1147
00:53:47,200 –> 00:53:49,160
Speaker 3: They’re going to be playing in Chicago where the high

1148
00:53:49,239 –> 00:53:52,680
Speaker 3: temperature is going to be nineteen degrees, it’s probably going

1149
00:53:52,719 –> 00:53:54,400
Speaker 3: to be close to zero. And you know it’s the

1150
00:53:54,520 –> 00:53:56,720
Speaker 3: late game on Sunday, So it’s going to be dark

1151
00:53:56,800 –> 00:54:00,120
Speaker 3: and cold. It’s Soldier Field. We saw last year the

1152
00:54:00,200 –> 00:54:03,120
Speaker 3: Rams winning too Philadelphia and they almost beat the team

1153
00:54:03,160 –> 00:54:04,719
Speaker 3: that ended up winning the Super Bowl. So it’s a

1154
00:54:04,760 –> 00:54:07,719
Speaker 3: similar situation. The Rams have been in this kind of situation.

1155
00:54:08,920 –> 00:54:10,920
Speaker 3: Everything tells me it should be the Rams, but then

1156
00:54:10,960 –> 00:54:13,680
Speaker 3: I think about what Caleb Williams and what head coach

1157
00:54:13,719 –> 00:54:15,799
Speaker 3: Ben Johnson have done with these Bears. They’ve kind of

1158
00:54:15,800 –> 00:54:19,160
Speaker 3: got me believe it. I feel like I’m journey gotta

1159
00:54:19,239 –> 00:54:22,080
Speaker 3: never believe it. I really knew. So like my mind

1160
00:54:22,160 –> 00:54:23,960
Speaker 3: says it’s the Rams, and my heart tells me the

1161
00:54:24,000 –> 00:54:26,239
Speaker 3: Bears are going to find a way to win. Am

1162
00:54:26,280 –> 00:54:29,040
Speaker 3: I crazy? What are you guys making this matchup?

1163
00:54:29,320 –> 00:54:29,400
Speaker 1: No?

1164
00:54:29,560 –> 00:54:32,200
Speaker 2: I don’t think you’re crazy. I do think the Rams

1165
00:54:32,320 –> 00:54:34,920
Speaker 2: win this game, just because the Bears are coming off

1166
00:54:34,960 –> 00:54:37,880
Speaker 2: a very emotional win that kind of took a lot

1167
00:54:38,360 –> 00:54:40,960
Speaker 2: to get it done, and I think the Rams are

1168
00:54:40,960 –> 00:54:42,960
Speaker 2: a better team. I think the Rams will come into

1169
00:54:43,000 –> 00:54:45,680
Speaker 2: this game probably a bit more focused than they did

1170
00:54:46,040 –> 00:54:48,560
Speaker 2: going into the Carolina game, and if the Rams play

1171
00:54:48,600 –> 00:54:50,400
Speaker 2: the way that I think we know they can play,

1172
00:54:50,560 –> 00:54:53,000
Speaker 2: the Rams win. I don’t think the Bears can come

1173
00:54:53,000 –> 00:54:55,799
Speaker 2: back from down twenty one to three against this Rams team,

1174
00:54:55,800 –> 00:54:58,000
Speaker 2: because I think they just have too much offensive firepower.

1175
00:54:58,960 –> 00:55:01,880
Speaker 2: But to your point, it’s the NFL. It’s any given Sunday,

1176
00:55:02,040 –> 00:55:05,160
Speaker 2: and the way that Caleb and the Bears played last

1177
00:55:05,160 –> 00:55:08,440
Speaker 2: week across the board, especially defensively, if they play like

1178
00:55:08,480 –> 00:55:10,560
Speaker 2: that again, they’ll have a chance. But I still think

1179
00:55:10,560 –> 00:55:12,400
Speaker 2: the Rams just have a little bit too much for

1180
00:55:12,440 –> 00:55:13,759
Speaker 2: the Bears to pull this one off.

1181
00:55:14,040 –> 00:55:15,520
Speaker 3: I want to take you one quick thing. I keep

1182
00:55:15,560 –> 00:55:18,040
Speaker 3: in mind that Stafford does have the finger issue, and

1183
00:55:18,080 –> 00:55:20,200
Speaker 3: he is thirty seven, and it’s going to be cold

1184
00:55:20,239 –> 00:55:22,800
Speaker 3: if he gets knocked around by that tough Bears defense.

1185
00:55:23,120 –> 00:55:24,600
Speaker 3: If I were a Rams fan, that’s why I be

1186
00:55:24,640 –> 00:55:27,879
Speaker 3: concerned protecting Matthew Stafford, because I don’t think he could

1187
00:55:27,880 –> 00:55:30,560
Speaker 3: take too many blows in that temperature. And wiel the

1188
00:55:30,640 –> 00:55:33,560
Speaker 3: Rams to Vickory Mitch, what say you, my friend.

1189
00:55:33,480 –> 00:55:35,239
Speaker 1: Well, that’s why the Rams run game’s got to be

1190
00:55:35,239 –> 00:55:37,960
Speaker 1: there a little bit. And again, they’re the maybe the

1191
00:55:37,960 –> 00:55:41,120
Speaker 1: most comprehensive team in the league. So I think we

1192
00:55:41,239 –> 00:55:44,560
Speaker 1: sometimes underrate that defense of the Rams and what they

1193
00:55:44,560 –> 00:55:47,879
Speaker 1: can do and how physical they can be at times.

1194
00:55:48,480 –> 00:55:52,120
Speaker 1: So to me and I’m sent a countray liqu what

1195
00:55:52,160 –> 00:55:54,680
Speaker 1: I said about Caleb earlier, because he checked every box

1196
00:55:54,719 –> 00:55:56,160
Speaker 1: that I wanted him to check. Now he’s going to

1197
00:55:56,280 –> 00:55:59,640
Speaker 1: check it again. Okay, Matthew Stafford has done that several

1198
00:55:59,640 –> 00:56:02,000
Speaker 1: times in his career in the playoffs. That’s the key

1199
00:56:02,000 –> 00:56:05,279
Speaker 1: prepositional phrase here, And I just think the Rams have

1200
00:56:05,400 –> 00:56:07,400
Speaker 1: a little more even with the elements to do it.

1201
00:56:07,760 –> 00:56:11,120
Speaker 1: And a Rams Seahawks NFC championship is way too tasty

1202
00:56:11,600 –> 00:56:15,640
Speaker 1: then because it will melt the polarized cut. If you

1203
00:56:15,680 –> 00:56:19,000
Speaker 1: have that game in Seattle, you will see the water

1204
00:56:19,120 –> 00:56:21,920
Speaker 1: come down the San Joaquin Valley like it’s gonna be

1205
00:56:22,760 –> 00:56:23,799
Speaker 1: amazing game.

1206
00:56:24,680 –> 00:56:27,320
Speaker 3: But it is interesting how the best division in football

1207
00:56:27,400 –> 00:56:30,960
Speaker 3: this year, the NFC West, is actually managed the playoffs

1208
00:56:30,960 –> 00:56:32,799
Speaker 3: great because if we look back to the NFC North

1209
00:56:32,880 –> 00:56:35,319
Speaker 3: last year, we had those three grade teams, they all

1210
00:56:35,360 –> 00:56:38,000
Speaker 3: lost their first playoff games. So the NFC West, well

1211
00:56:38,000 –> 00:56:40,239
Speaker 3: they beat up on each other, it didn’t affect them

1212
00:56:40,239 –> 00:56:42,160
Speaker 3: in the postseason, all right. So that’s a look at

1213
00:56:42,200 –> 00:56:45,560
Speaker 3: the division round. Now the season is coming on, and

1214
00:56:45,600 –> 00:56:48,200
Speaker 3: I think it’s appropriate that the three of us give

1215
00:56:48,280 –> 00:56:51,239
Speaker 3: our personal award choices for the four biggest awards. We’re

1216
00:56:51,239 –> 00:56:54,520
Speaker 3: gonna go MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player

1217
00:56:54,520 –> 00:56:56,359
Speaker 3: of the Year, and the Coach of the Year. I’m

1218
00:56:56,400 –> 00:56:58,560
Speaker 3: gonna go first. I can promise you we won’t be

1219
00:56:58,680 –> 00:57:00,960
Speaker 3: in agreement on all these. You can decide out there

1220
00:57:01,000 –> 00:57:03,920
Speaker 3: in Chief Kingham what you think for yourself. The MVP.

1221
00:57:04,280 –> 00:57:06,600
Speaker 3: I know many people think it’s a two headed race

1222
00:57:06,640 –> 00:57:10,640
Speaker 3: between Matthew Stafford and Drake may I’m going with Stafford.

1223
00:57:10,760 –> 00:57:14,000
Speaker 3: The forty six touchdown passes led the league. He led

1224
00:57:14,040 –> 00:57:17,120
Speaker 3: the league in passing yards, he was fourth in quarterback raiding.

1225
00:57:17,720 –> 00:57:19,600
Speaker 3: And when you watch him play too, I mean he

1226
00:57:19,680 –> 00:57:22,120
Speaker 3: can spin it like does anybody throw a pre er ball.

1227
00:57:22,440 –> 00:57:26,280
Speaker 3: The Matthew Stafford the Rams to me had a great year. Yeah,

1228
00:57:26,320 –> 00:57:28,040
Speaker 3: they didn’t get the number one. See they’re gonna have

1229
00:57:28,040 –> 00:57:30,200
Speaker 3: to battle through. But that’s not what the MVP is about.

1230
00:57:30,280 –> 00:57:34,880
Speaker 3: Without him, they’re not much. They have good pieces, but

1231
00:57:34,960 –> 00:57:37,320
Speaker 3: he’s made that team into a great team. So Matthew

1232
00:57:37,360 –> 00:57:40,440
Speaker 3: Stafford is my choice for MVP. Matt let’s go to you.

1233
00:57:41,040 –> 00:57:43,160
Speaker 2: So Mitch and I discussed this a little bit earlier.

1234
00:57:43,440 –> 00:57:45,560
Speaker 2: We’re gonna make sure none of us pick the same

1235
00:57:46,000 –> 00:57:49,280
Speaker 2: guys for the sake of this being fun because we can’t.

1236
00:57:49,480 –> 00:57:51,200
Speaker 2: I just don’t want us all to say, yeah, Stafford,

1237
00:57:51,240 –> 00:57:53,160
Speaker 2: you know. And also the same thing. So for the

1238
00:57:53,200 –> 00:57:58,080
Speaker 2: sake of making this fun, how about Jonathan Taylor for MVP.

1239
00:58:00,280 –> 00:58:02,880
Speaker 2: We’re turning the clock back to two thousand and four here,

1240
00:58:03,000 –> 00:58:05,600
Speaker 2: I’m giving a running back MVP. So Jonathan Taylor had

1241
00:58:05,640 –> 00:58:08,720
Speaker 2: twenty total touchdowns this year that led the NFL. He

1242
00:58:08,800 –> 00:58:11,480
Speaker 2: was third and scrimmage yards. Now, his numbers took a

1243
00:58:11,480 –> 00:58:15,160
Speaker 2: dip toward the end of the year when Riley Leonard

1244
00:58:15,160 –> 00:58:20,120
Speaker 2: and Philip Rivers were his quarterbacks. But think about that

1245
00:58:20,160 –> 00:58:23,640
Speaker 2: Colts offense the first two thirds of the season and

1246
00:58:23,920 –> 00:58:27,120
Speaker 2: Daniel Jones played well. But I think we also know

1247
00:58:27,120 –> 00:58:31,000
Speaker 2: who Daniel Jones is. That offense was working because Jonathan

1248
00:58:31,040 –> 00:58:33,600
Speaker 2: Taylor was the best football player on the field and

1249
00:58:33,720 –> 00:58:36,000
Speaker 2: he was the engine that made the whole thing go. Now,

1250
00:58:36,080 –> 00:58:38,960
Speaker 2: when they had some injuries start to happen and Jones

1251
00:58:39,000 –> 00:58:41,560
Speaker 2: got hurt, it was too much to put on him

1252
00:58:41,600 –> 00:58:44,080
Speaker 2: because a running back can only do so much. But

1253
00:58:44,160 –> 00:58:46,040
Speaker 2: what he was able to do for that Colts team

1254
00:58:46,120 –> 00:58:49,200
Speaker 2: the first two thirds of the season was remarkable. And

1255
00:58:49,320 –> 00:58:52,320
Speaker 2: for the sake of this exercise, I’m giving Jonathan Taylor

1256
00:58:52,400 –> 00:58:52,920
Speaker 2: the MVP.

1257
00:58:54,400 –> 00:58:56,400
Speaker 1: Yeah, and since I get a pick third on all these,

1258
00:58:57,400 –> 00:59:01,240
Speaker 1: I take the leftovers. And since i have to have

1259
00:59:01,240 –> 00:59:03,880
Speaker 1: an Offensive Player of the Year, I’m saving that one

1260
00:59:04,040 –> 00:59:05,720
Speaker 1: for my third pick. And I’m gonna go where I

1261
00:59:05,880 –> 00:59:08,000
Speaker 1: you guys are gonna go with the second one, because

1262
00:59:08,000 –> 00:59:11,200
Speaker 1: I’m gonna get putting Miles Garrett as the NFL VP. Yeah,

1263
00:59:11,400 –> 00:59:14,960
Speaker 1: with his record setting sack year, you put him on

1264
00:59:15,080 –> 00:59:17,720
Speaker 1: any other team, He’s not only still playing, he’s winning

1265
00:59:17,720 –> 00:59:20,280
Speaker 1: games and eating the football as he’s doing it. I

1266
00:59:20,400 –> 00:59:23,080
Speaker 1: just what an amazing year on a bad team, and

1267
00:59:23,120 –> 00:59:27,080
Speaker 1: the guy’s just incredible. So that’s I’m going off the

1268
00:59:27,200 –> 00:59:30,480
Speaker 1: track a little bit, but I’m picking third, so I

1269
00:59:30,480 –> 00:59:31,760
Speaker 1: got to think outside the box.

1270
00:59:32,440 –> 00:59:34,640
Speaker 3: I like it all right. Next up, Offensive Player of

1271
00:59:34,680 –> 00:59:36,960
Speaker 3: the Year. It kind of pains me to say this,

1272
00:59:37,120 –> 00:59:39,960
Speaker 3: but Pookin Nakula one hundred and twenty nine catches led

1273
00:59:40,000 –> 00:59:44,600
Speaker 3: the league in receptions. When you watch him play, his toughness,

1274
00:59:44,640 –> 00:59:47,200
Speaker 3: in his physicality at the wide receiver position, I think

1275
00:59:47,680 –> 00:59:50,920
Speaker 3: is unmatched in the league at this point. He I

1276
00:59:50,920 –> 00:59:52,640
Speaker 3: will say he had a couple of bad drops the

1277
00:59:52,640 –> 00:59:54,320
Speaker 3: other day in the playoff game. He didn’t come back

1278
00:59:54,320 –> 00:59:58,360
Speaker 3: to haunt them. Uh. I found Pookinakua as a rookie charming.

1279
00:59:58,560 –> 01:00:01,600
Speaker 3: I thought that guy’s gonna be loved by everybody. He

1280
01:00:01,640 –> 01:00:04,240
Speaker 3: plays with more of an edge. Now he’s got some

1281
01:00:04,280 –> 01:00:06,800
Speaker 3: real lack of a different word, he’s got like kind

1282
01:00:06,840 –> 01:00:09,000
Speaker 3: of an attitude out there. I must say, if you’re

1283
01:00:09,000 –> 01:00:11,280
Speaker 3: a Rams fan, you love him. I say, as someone

1284
01:00:11,280 –> 01:00:14,440
Speaker 3: who is in a Rams fan, he’s increasingly hard to like.

1285
01:00:14,480 –> 01:00:17,080
Speaker 3: But maybe it’s just because he’s so darn good. Who

1286
01:00:17,160 –> 01:00:18,880
Speaker 3: get to cool it with my offensive Player of the Year.

1287
01:00:18,920 –> 01:00:20,160
Speaker 3: But I don’t feel great about it.

1288
01:00:21,760 –> 01:00:23,800
Speaker 2: I was looking at his numbers. He has like seventeen

1289
01:00:23,880 –> 01:00:27,640
Speaker 2: hundred yards. Yeah, I mean, it’s just crazy. And he’s

1290
01:00:27,640 –> 01:00:31,720
Speaker 2: so reliable that in that Panthers game when he dropped

1291
01:00:31,720 –> 01:00:33,880
Speaker 2: the ball, it’s almost like you feel like there was

1292
01:00:33,880 –> 01:00:37,560
Speaker 2: a glitch or something like wait, what like he dropped

1293
01:00:37,600 –> 01:00:40,840
Speaker 2: that pass? So, yeah, that’s a good pick. Again, for

1294
01:00:40,880 –> 01:00:43,800
Speaker 2: the sake of a variety, I’m gonna go with James

1295
01:00:43,840 –> 01:00:47,280
Speaker 2: Cook for my Offensive Player of the Year. So led

1296
01:00:47,320 –> 01:00:49,760
Speaker 2: the NFL in rushing yards with more than sixteen hundred.

1297
01:00:50,160 –> 01:00:53,080
Speaker 2: He averaged ninety five rushing yards per game, and he

1298
01:00:53,200 –> 01:00:55,320
Speaker 2: was fourth in scrimmage yards among all players with just

1299
01:00:55,400 –> 01:00:59,400
Speaker 2: under two thousand. You know, I think it depends on

1300
01:00:59,400 –> 01:01:01,360
Speaker 2: how you look at these awards. I think if you

1301
01:01:01,360 –> 01:01:05,080
Speaker 2: took James Cook off the Bills, they are a dramatically

1302
01:01:05,120 –> 01:01:07,800
Speaker 2: different team. And I think what he’s done for them

1303
01:01:07,840 –> 01:01:10,680
Speaker 2: this year and for Josh Allen is he has opened

1304
01:01:10,720 –> 01:01:14,400
Speaker 2: everything up for them offensively where defenses can’t just key

1305
01:01:14,440 –> 01:01:16,880
Speaker 2: in on Josh Allen. You have to respect what James

1306
01:01:16,920 –> 01:01:19,760
Speaker 2: Cook can do. He’s been explosive, He’s been a playmaker

1307
01:01:19,800 –> 01:01:22,720
Speaker 2: all season for them, Just a really, really impressive player

1308
01:01:22,720 –> 01:01:26,000
Speaker 2: that I think has changed their offense and really given

1309
01:01:26,040 –> 01:01:28,000
Speaker 2: Allen an opportunity to make a run at this thing,

1310
01:01:28,000 –> 01:01:30,520
Speaker 2: because without him, I don’t know if the Bills are

1311
01:01:30,560 –> 01:01:33,360
Speaker 2: a playoff team without James Cook this year. So he

1312
01:01:33,440 –> 01:01:34,840
Speaker 2: is my Offensive Player of the Year.

1313
01:01:35,480 –> 01:01:37,920
Speaker 1: I’ll see your Pooka Naku and I’ll raise your Jackson

1314
01:01:37,920 –> 01:01:43,160
Speaker 1: Smith and Jig though he has ten less catches, seventy

1315
01:01:43,240 –> 01:01:46,880
Speaker 1: one more yards and four less targets and the same

1316
01:01:46,920 –> 01:01:50,960
Speaker 1: amount of touchdowns. Wow, if he’s on this team, if

1317
01:01:50,960 –> 01:01:54,600
Speaker 1: you put JSN on the Chiefs team, we’re still playing

1318
01:01:54,600 –> 01:01:57,280
Speaker 1: at that backdrop behind you with the fireworks going off.

1319
01:01:58,800 –> 01:02:02,640
Speaker 3: Fair enough, I think. I also think Seattle does suffer

1320
01:02:02,720 –> 01:02:05,520
Speaker 3: a little bit from they’re up in the Pacific Northwest.

1321
01:02:05,640 –> 01:02:08,480
Speaker 3: I feel like they don’t necessarily get as much attention

1322
01:02:08,560 –> 01:02:09,960
Speaker 3: as some of the other teams and some of the

1323
01:02:09,960 –> 01:02:13,120
Speaker 3: time slots they’re in, and Jason Smith and Jigba you

1324
01:02:13,120 –> 01:02:15,520
Speaker 3: can make the cases a top three or four receiver

1325
01:02:15,600 –> 01:02:17,520
Speaker 3: in the National Football League. I don’t know if the

1326
01:02:17,600 –> 01:02:21,280
Speaker 3: whole nation casual football fans realize how good he is yet.

1327
01:02:21,520 –> 01:02:23,320
Speaker 3: I think they will if Seattle makes a run at

1328
01:02:23,320 –> 01:02:25,840
Speaker 3: the super Bowl, that’s for sure, all right. Next up,

1329
01:02:25,880 –> 01:02:27,480
Speaker 3: Defensive Player of the Year. Look, I’m going with the

1330
01:02:27,480 –> 01:02:31,320
Speaker 3: easy one here. I wrote the rundown first. You guys

1331
01:02:31,360 –> 01:02:33,320
Speaker 3: have to go after me. But I mean, it is

1332
01:02:33,360 –> 01:02:35,640
Speaker 3: Miles Garrett. But you know, a part of me wonders

1333
01:02:35,680 –> 01:02:38,960
Speaker 3: this question about Miles Garrett. He took all that money

1334
01:02:39,000 –> 01:02:41,560
Speaker 3: to stay in Cleveland. Would he give some of that

1335
01:02:41,640 –> 01:02:43,560
Speaker 3: money back to be playing on a team that’s still

1336
01:02:43,600 –> 01:02:47,200
Speaker 3: playing right now? Like in terms of legacy for him personally,

1337
01:02:47,400 –> 01:02:50,560
Speaker 3: the SAX record may last, you know, for a whole generation.

1338
01:02:51,160 –> 01:02:52,880
Speaker 3: But man, that guy never gets to play in any

1339
01:02:52,920 –> 01:02:55,480
Speaker 3: games that have deep meaning. So I just wonder if

1340
01:02:55,520 –> 01:02:57,080
Speaker 3: you got him in a room and you had a

1341
01:02:57,080 –> 01:03:00,320
Speaker 3: lot of detector tests, would you trade the defense player

1342
01:03:00,360 –> 01:03:03,520
Speaker 3: of the year in order to annually be in the playoffs?

1343
01:03:03,880 –> 01:03:05,400
Speaker 3: What do you guys think? Is he gonna end up

1344
01:03:05,440 –> 01:03:07,200
Speaker 3: going out as a Hall of Famer, But will he

1345
01:03:07,280 –> 01:03:09,200
Speaker 3: ever play a meaningful playoff game?

1346
01:03:09,760 –> 01:03:14,520
Speaker 2: Well, okay, I will never fault someone for taking a

1347
01:03:14,520 –> 01:03:17,040
Speaker 2: bunch of money. But he did sign an extension in Cleveland,

1348
01:03:17,520 –> 01:03:20,640
Speaker 2: you know. So now, if he really believed in the

1349
01:03:20,720 –> 01:03:24,040
Speaker 2: vision and in the future, then I can’t blame him

1350
01:03:24,080 –> 01:03:28,120
Speaker 2: for that. But I do wonder if he puts pressure

1351
01:03:28,200 –> 01:03:32,680
Speaker 2: on their front office and their new coaching staff to say, like, hey, like,

1352
01:03:32,760 –> 01:03:34,560
Speaker 2: I only have so many years where I can keep

1353
01:03:34,560 –> 01:03:37,760
Speaker 2: doing this, and if I don’t see a clear vision

1354
01:03:37,920 –> 01:03:40,479
Speaker 2: or a clear path forward, then maybe he does start

1355
01:03:40,480 –> 01:03:42,440
Speaker 2: to make some noise. I’m not sure, but he did

1356
01:03:42,520 –> 01:03:46,320
Speaker 2: sign an extension there, so in part, he did choose

1357
01:03:46,360 –> 01:03:46,880
Speaker 2: to be there.

1358
01:03:48,080 –> 01:03:50,600
Speaker 3: He’s makes me actually a question whether he’s gullible because

1359
01:03:50,600 –> 01:03:52,920
Speaker 3: what could they have possibly told him, yeah, to lead

1360
01:03:53,000 –> 01:03:54,880
Speaker 3: him to believe the Cleveland was going to become a winning,

1361
01:03:54,920 –> 01:03:57,760
Speaker 3: competitive franchise, because there was nothing we saw this year

1362
01:03:58,160 –> 01:04:01,280
Speaker 3: they’re so far away on the quarterbacks. I’m just curious

1363
01:04:01,320 –> 01:04:03,480
Speaker 3: what they told him, other than we’re gonna put some

1364
01:04:03,520 –> 01:04:06,080
Speaker 3: more zeros in, some more commas. I don’t know what

1365
01:04:06,120 –> 01:04:07,960
Speaker 3: you could tell him that make you suddenly believe the

1366
01:04:07,960 –> 01:04:09,000
Speaker 3: Browns we’re going to be good.

1367
01:04:09,280 –> 01:04:12,480
Speaker 2: Yeah, I’m not sure. And I’ll preface this by saying

1368
01:04:12,520 –> 01:04:14,920
Speaker 2: he’s obviously the defensive player of the year, but again

1369
01:04:15,760 –> 01:04:18,160
Speaker 2: for fun, I’m going to give it to Aiden Hutchinson

1370
01:04:18,200 –> 01:04:22,840
Speaker 2: this year good so. Aiden Hutchinson had one hundred total pressures,

1371
01:04:23,160 –> 01:04:26,600
Speaker 2: one hundred pressures that led the NFL. Also had fourteen

1372
01:04:26,600 –> 01:04:28,760
Speaker 2: and a half sacks for him coming off that leg

1373
01:04:28,800 –> 01:04:31,560
Speaker 2: injury from last year, which was really scary. You never

1374
01:04:31,680 –> 01:04:34,080
Speaker 2: know with the player at that position who’s coming off

1375
01:04:34,080 –> 01:04:36,160
Speaker 2: a broken leg, like will they ever be the same,

1376
01:04:36,640 –> 01:04:38,920
Speaker 2: And he was even better than he was the year prior.

1377
01:04:39,040 –> 01:04:41,760
Speaker 2: So says a lot about how he attacked his rehab,

1378
01:04:41,800 –> 01:04:44,440
Speaker 2: how seriously he took it, and how seriously he took

1379
01:04:44,480 –> 01:04:47,720
Speaker 2: the season. A disappointing season for the Lions overall, but

1380
01:04:48,360 –> 01:04:51,000
Speaker 2: he was fantastic. It wasn’t his fault. They didn’t make

1381
01:04:51,040 –> 01:04:54,640
Speaker 2: the playoffs, So I’ll give it to Aiden Hutchinson with.

1382
01:04:55,000 –> 01:04:58,160
Speaker 1: High interable mention to the entire Seattle defense because I

1383
01:04:58,200 –> 01:05:03,080
Speaker 1: got that Piranha Hawk defense. I’m gonna give co Defensive

1384
01:05:03,080 –> 01:05:05,360
Speaker 1: Players of the Year Will Anderson Junior.

1385
01:05:06,040 –> 01:05:06,520
Speaker 2: It’s good.

1386
01:05:07,520 –> 01:05:13,280
Speaker 1: Combine twenty seven sacks, combine six forced fumbles, combine six

1387
01:05:13,360 –> 01:05:18,200
Speaker 1: passes defense, combine forty five quarterback hits. There is no

1388
01:05:18,320 –> 01:05:24,080
Speaker 1: two better bookends. We saw that in the flesh. They

1389
01:05:24,160 –> 01:05:26,360
Speaker 1: just said, the game is ours. We’ll take it and

1390
01:05:27,200 –> 01:05:30,000
Speaker 1: send Aaron Rodgers into the night. They’re amazing. We saw

1391
01:05:30,120 –> 01:05:34,640
Speaker 1: him too. Othery’re impossible to block. They’re just they’re incredible.

1392
01:05:34,760 –> 01:05:37,000
Speaker 1: No better bookends, and we haven’t seen a one to

1393
01:05:37,000 –> 01:05:38,360
Speaker 1: two punch like that in a while.

1394
01:05:39,160 –> 01:05:41,400
Speaker 3: Yeah, and it helps the defense a lot of defensive

1395
01:05:41,400 –> 01:05:43,480
Speaker 3: coordinator when you only have to bring four and you

1396
01:05:43,520 –> 01:05:46,040
Speaker 3: never have to bring anybody else because those four so good.

1397
01:05:46,800 –> 01:05:49,040
Speaker 3: All right, So let’s go to Coach of the Year,

1398
01:05:49,080 –> 01:05:50,680
Speaker 3: and I’m just gonna list off some names that I

1399
01:05:50,680 –> 01:05:53,440
Speaker 3: think should be candidates that you could make. I think

1400
01:05:53,440 –> 01:05:58,720
Speaker 3: a very compelling case for Sean Payton, Mike Rabel, Kyle Shanahan,

1401
01:05:58,920 –> 01:06:03,120
Speaker 3: Mike McDonald, Demiko Ryans, and Ben Johnson. I think you

1402
01:06:03,160 –> 01:06:06,919
Speaker 3: could you could really make a case and he’d be like, oh, well,

1403
01:06:07,000 –> 01:06:10,320
Speaker 3: that guy should be the coach year. We can only

1404
01:06:10,360 –> 01:06:13,000
Speaker 3: pick one, and I’m actually going away from what you guys.

1405
01:06:13,040 –> 01:06:15,040
Speaker 3: The consensus I think is that Rabel is the guy.

1406
01:06:15,080 –> 01:06:17,080
Speaker 3: But to me, the coach of the Year is someone

1407
01:06:17,120 –> 01:06:20,000
Speaker 3: who could take an Owen three team and have them

1408
01:06:20,000 –> 01:06:23,360
Speaker 3: still playing now. I think Demiko Ryans is the NFL

1409
01:06:23,440 –> 01:06:26,160
Speaker 3: coach of the Year because he doesn’t have a great quarterback,

1410
01:06:26,440 –> 01:06:28,959
Speaker 3: that team had to deal with defense, and again, Owen three,

1411
01:06:29,080 –> 01:06:31,160
Speaker 3: just you guys know that the chief struggling. You know

1412
01:06:31,200 –> 01:06:33,320
Speaker 3: what one and two felt like, imagine what Owen three

1413
01:06:33,360 –> 01:06:33,840
Speaker 3: feels like.

1414
01:06:33,920 –> 01:06:34,160
Speaker 1: Right.

1415
01:06:34,320 –> 01:06:36,920
Speaker 3: It feels like you got no chance. And he willed

1416
01:06:36,920 –> 01:06:39,360
Speaker 3: this team and they’re playing as well as anybody right now.

1417
01:06:39,360 –> 01:06:42,120
Speaker 3: They are a hot team. And for what it’s worth,

1418
01:06:42,480 –> 01:06:46,880
Speaker 3: Demiko Ryans is very likable. He’s his the way he

1419
01:06:46,960 –> 01:06:49,919
Speaker 3: leads his team, and he smiles a lot, and he’s

1420
01:06:49,920 –> 01:06:52,680
Speaker 3: not a just I don’t know. There’s something about the

1421
01:06:52,720 –> 01:06:54,840
Speaker 3: guy that I like. Look, he played for the forty

1422
01:06:54,960 –> 01:06:57,320
Speaker 3: nine ers. I can’t stand the forty Nindres. There’s reasons

1423
01:06:57,360 –> 01:06:58,520
Speaker 3: I shouldn’t like him.

1424
01:06:58,640 –> 01:06:59,080
Speaker 1: But I do.

1425
01:06:59,320 –> 01:07:02,240
Speaker 3: I like to make he’s a likable guy. So my

1426
01:07:02,360 –> 01:07:05,040
Speaker 3: NFL Coach of the Year is Houston Texans head coach

1427
01:07:05,120 –> 01:07:05,880
Speaker 3: Demiko Ryans.

1428
01:07:05,920 –> 01:07:07,960
Speaker 2: Matt, what do you think, you know, kind of like

1429
01:07:08,000 –> 01:07:10,160
Speaker 2: a draft board, like a team trying to figure out

1430
01:07:10,240 –> 01:07:12,480
Speaker 2: who’s going to be taken. I was certain you were

1431
01:07:12,520 –> 01:07:14,800
Speaker 2: taking Vrabel, so I was super fired up about taking

1432
01:07:14,840 –> 01:07:16,400
Speaker 2: Demiko Ryans. That’s who I want.

1433
01:07:16,560 –> 01:07:17,040
Speaker 3: I gotcha.

1434
01:07:17,200 –> 01:07:19,959
Speaker 2: They won ten straight games. Think about they won games

1435
01:07:19,960 –> 01:07:23,720
Speaker 2: with Davis Mills at quarterback. I think their last loss

1436
01:07:23,760 –> 01:07:27,200
Speaker 2: was to Denver and they almost won that game. So yeah,

1437
01:07:27,360 –> 01:07:29,400
Speaker 2: what Demiko has done this year has been incredible, and

1438
01:07:29,440 –> 01:07:31,640
Speaker 2: I do think he’s the coach of the Year. But

1439
01:07:31,720 –> 01:07:33,560
Speaker 2: because I’m picking a second here, I will give it

1440
01:07:33,560 –> 01:07:36,840
Speaker 2: to Vrabel and Rabel deserves it too. We’ve talked about

1441
01:07:36,880 –> 01:07:40,000
Speaker 2: it already, but how he totally flipped that culture around

1442
01:07:40,720 –> 01:07:44,480
Speaker 2: really really impressive. They go from four and thirteen to

1443
01:07:44,560 –> 01:07:46,840
Speaker 2: fourteen and three. I mess at the math there, but

1444
01:07:46,880 –> 01:07:51,360
Speaker 2: you get the idea, a total flip around. It’s not

1445
01:07:51,440 –> 01:07:53,760
Speaker 2: easy to do. We saw it with coach read here

1446
01:07:53,800 –> 01:07:56,720
Speaker 2: in twenty thirteen, where you have a lot of the

1447
01:07:56,800 –> 01:08:00,560
Speaker 2: same players and you need to establish a new standard,

1448
01:08:01,120 –> 01:08:03,840
Speaker 2: right like what was going on before is not how

1449
01:08:03,840 –> 01:08:05,320
Speaker 2: we’re going to do things. This is how we’re going

1450
01:08:05,360 –> 01:08:07,280
Speaker 2: to do things now. It takes a certain kind of

1451
01:08:07,320 –> 01:08:11,920
Speaker 2: person to demand that standard. Rabel’s clearly that guy, also

1452
01:08:12,640 –> 01:08:15,160
Speaker 2: putting his coaches in a position to succeed and to

1453
01:08:15,200 –> 01:08:18,360
Speaker 2: develop a young quarterback, Drake May, I think we all

1454
01:08:18,400 –> 01:08:21,280
Speaker 2: agree was super talented and had all his potential. But

1455
01:08:21,640 –> 01:08:23,200
Speaker 2: I mean, how many times do we see it like

1456
01:08:23,200 –> 01:08:26,240
Speaker 2: with sam Donold for example, or other young quarterbacks they

1457
01:08:26,240 –> 01:08:28,720
Speaker 2: come in the league, they just don’t develop with the

1458
01:08:28,720 –> 01:08:31,479
Speaker 2: team that drafted them because the coaching isn’t there, the

1459
01:08:31,520 –> 01:08:34,960
Speaker 2: culture isn’t there. Vrabel has created a culture for May

1460
01:08:35,000 –> 01:08:37,519
Speaker 2: to not only succeed, but to thrive and to become

1461
01:08:37,520 –> 01:08:41,000
Speaker 2: an MVP candidate. So for what Rabel’s done this year,

1462
01:08:41,200 –> 01:08:44,679
Speaker 2: really really amazing. To beat the Bills in Orchard Park

1463
01:08:45,120 –> 01:08:46,800
Speaker 2: and to be in a position where they can make

1464
01:08:46,800 –> 01:08:48,960
Speaker 2: a run at an AFC title and maybe a Super

1465
01:08:48,960 –> 01:08:52,400
Speaker 2: Bowl after winning just three or four games last year,

1466
01:08:52,479 –> 01:08:54,519
Speaker 2: it’s really amazing. So I’ll give it to Rabel.

1467
01:08:55,479 –> 01:09:00,439
Speaker 1: This goes back to your talk about Seattle sometimes underrated.

1468
01:09:00,479 –> 01:09:04,360
Speaker 1: Why are we not talking about Mike McDonald enough? Right? Unreal?

1469
01:09:04,439 –> 01:09:06,879
Speaker 1: What he did best best team in the best division.

1470
01:09:07,560 –> 01:09:09,840
Speaker 1: And you know he was in the Ravens. He was

1471
01:09:09,920 –> 01:09:13,160
Speaker 1: with John Harbaugh for nine years and he’s brought that

1472
01:09:13,200 –> 01:09:15,040
Speaker 1: to the Seahawks. They had it before the Legion of

1473
01:09:15,080 –> 01:09:17,080
Speaker 1: Boom and then they went down and then he brought

1474
01:09:17,120 –> 01:09:20,599
Speaker 1: him back. So big kudos here to Maybe we love

1475
01:09:20,640 –> 01:09:23,599
Speaker 1: Brad Veitch’s Executive of the Year, but John Schneider of

1476
01:09:23,640 –> 01:09:27,440
Speaker 1: De Peer, Wisconsin, by the way, the old Saint Norbert fullback.

1477
01:09:29,760 –> 01:09:33,240
Speaker 1: He just keeps punching away and I still see him

1478
01:09:33,240 –> 01:09:35,880
Speaker 1: wearing the championship belt after they want it all back

1479
01:09:35,920 –> 01:09:40,040
Speaker 1: in what twenty twelve or eleven, ten, thirteen, But now

1480
01:09:40,040 –> 01:09:44,439
Speaker 1: they’re reborn and McDonald’s rebirthed those guys. I love his style.

1481
01:09:44,520 –> 01:09:47,680
Speaker 1: I like that team. I love their toughness. And you

1482
01:09:47,720 –> 01:09:50,639
Speaker 1: talk about he has made Sam Darnold a winning quarterback. Yeah,

1483
01:09:50,680 –> 01:09:54,400
Speaker 1: so Mike McDonald of the Seahawks.

1484
01:09:53,920 –> 01:09:55,640
Speaker 3: I like it, right. So that’s it for the awards.

1485
01:09:55,720 –> 01:09:58,439
Speaker 3: Now we’re all going to give our final thought, and

1486
01:09:58,479 –> 01:10:01,599
Speaker 3: I just want to open them that my final thought

1487
01:10:01,800 –> 01:10:04,720
Speaker 3: is going to wildly contradict itself, So I just want

1488
01:10:04,760 –> 01:10:07,439
Speaker 3: to get that out there. So all the time during

1489
01:10:07,479 –> 01:10:09,840
Speaker 3: this year, we’ve talked about why the NFL is great

1490
01:10:09,960 –> 01:10:10,839
Speaker 3: is because of parody.

1491
01:10:11,120 –> 01:10:11,439
Speaker 2: It is.

1492
01:10:11,520 –> 01:10:13,920
Speaker 3: It’s amazing. All thirty two teams. It doesn’t matter whether

1493
01:10:13,960 –> 01:10:18,120
Speaker 3: you’re in Green Bay, New York, Miami, Seattle, Kansas City.

1494
01:10:18,160 –> 01:10:20,879
Speaker 3: Everybody’s got the same shot to win. And that is amazing.

1495
01:10:20,920 –> 01:10:23,200
Speaker 3: And I love that about the NFL. And look at

1496
01:10:23,240 –> 01:10:25,439
Speaker 3: all these teams we’ve been talking about that you weren’t

1497
01:10:25,520 –> 01:10:27,920
Speaker 3: very good last year, and just one year later, all

1498
01:10:27,920 –> 01:10:29,400
Speaker 3: of a sudden, they’re in the playoffs and they’re a

1499
01:10:29,400 –> 01:10:32,560
Speaker 3: super Bowl contender. Oh that’s great. But here’s my contradiction

1500
01:10:32,640 –> 01:10:35,799
Speaker 3: as someone who considers themselves a bit of a historian

1501
01:10:35,880 –> 01:10:38,160
Speaker 3: of the National Football League. Maybe not on Mitch’s level,

1502
01:10:38,160 –> 01:10:40,640
Speaker 3: but I’m happy to be in second place behind him.

1503
01:10:41,520 –> 01:10:45,320
Speaker 3: The dynasties are what shaped the history of the game,

1504
01:10:45,600 –> 01:10:47,120
Speaker 3: and it’s just a little bit of a bummer when

1505
01:10:47,160 –> 01:10:49,320
Speaker 3: I look at these Shears playoffs. It may be the

1506
01:10:49,400 –> 01:10:52,440
Speaker 3: start of a new dynasty. But the ones that were potentially,

1507
01:10:52,520 –> 01:10:56,000
Speaker 3: you know, dynasties in progress, like the Chiefs, or even

1508
01:10:56,439 –> 01:10:58,599
Speaker 3: had the Eagles still been in the playoffs and they

1509
01:10:58,640 –> 01:11:00,800
Speaker 3: had a chance to repeat. Because I grew up it

1510
01:11:00,880 –> 01:11:04,720
Speaker 3: was basically Dallas or San Francisco or Green Bay. In

1511
01:11:04,760 –> 01:11:06,400
Speaker 3: the NFC, it felt like they went to the super

1512
01:11:06,400 –> 01:11:09,080
Speaker 3: Bowl every year. The other teams might occasionally have a womb.

1513
01:11:09,600 –> 01:11:12,519
Speaker 3: So while parody is great, I love the talk of dynasties.

1514
01:11:12,560 –> 01:11:14,320
Speaker 3: I mean last year talking about the Chiefs trying to

1515
01:11:14,320 –> 01:11:16,160
Speaker 3: win three in a row, So like that kind of

1516
01:11:16,200 –> 01:11:18,320
Speaker 3: storyline is missing. We’re going to have a new champion.

1517
01:11:18,360 –> 01:11:20,400
Speaker 3: There’s going to be a super Bowl winning quarterback. With

1518
01:11:20,479 –> 01:11:22,920
Speaker 3: the exception of Stafford, that really isn’t a guy in

1519
01:11:22,960 –> 01:11:25,000
Speaker 3: there who you think is creating like a legacy of

1520
01:11:25,080 –> 01:11:28,120
Speaker 3: multiple super Bowl titles. So I know it’s a contradiction.

1521
01:11:28,280 –> 01:11:30,800
Speaker 3: I love parody, but I also love dynasties because it’s

1522
01:11:30,840 –> 01:11:33,240
Speaker 3: the legacy. When we talk about the greatest teams in

1523
01:11:33,360 –> 01:11:36,840
Speaker 3: NFL history, most recently of course our beloved Chiefs, that

1524
01:11:37,000 –> 01:11:40,240
Speaker 3: just brings an extra bit of potential history to the playoffs.

1525
01:11:40,560 –> 01:11:42,599
Speaker 3: So this year it may be the start of something new.

1526
01:11:42,600 –> 01:11:44,320
Speaker 3: I sure hope not, because I don’t want there to

1527
01:11:44,320 –> 01:11:46,080
Speaker 3: be a new dynasty because I want to Chiefs want

1528
01:11:46,120 –> 01:11:48,600
Speaker 3: to continue next season. But I’m looking forward to the

1529
01:11:48,640 –> 01:11:50,519
Speaker 3: rest of the playoffs. But I do miss the fact

1530
01:11:50,520 –> 01:11:53,120
Speaker 3: that there’s no team here that’s in the middle of

1531
01:11:53,160 –> 01:11:55,080
Speaker 3: a dynasty. And that’s my final thought.

1532
01:11:55,960 –> 01:11:58,519
Speaker 2: So my final thought has to do with something that

1533
01:11:58,760 –> 01:12:01,320
Speaker 2: all three of us are very in and that is

1534
01:12:01,360 –> 01:12:05,240
Speaker 2: the preseason. Now, it might seem odd to discuss the

1535
01:12:05,240 –> 01:12:08,240
Speaker 2: preseason when the NFL playoffs are going on, but one

1536
01:12:08,240 –> 01:12:10,360
Speaker 2: thing I’ve been thinking about lately, and Mitch and I

1537
01:12:10,400 –> 01:12:14,320
Speaker 2: have talked about this a lot, is that the Chiefs

1538
01:12:14,320 –> 01:12:18,080
Speaker 2: the last couple of years just have not impressed us

1539
01:12:18,120 –> 01:12:21,960
Speaker 2: in the preseason. Right, And if you’re listening, you might say,

1540
01:12:22,320 –> 01:12:25,200
Speaker 2: who cares, it’s the preseason, the games don’t matter. Well,

1541
01:12:25,280 –> 01:12:28,519
Speaker 2: I think if you look at Seattle when we played

1542
01:12:28,520 –> 01:12:31,679
Speaker 2: them in the preseason earlier this year, I came away

1543
01:12:31,720 –> 01:12:34,000
Speaker 2: from that game thinking that team is really good, like

1544
01:12:34,040 –> 01:12:35,680
Speaker 2: a lot better than I thought they were going to be.

1545
01:12:35,960 –> 01:12:38,800
Speaker 2: And look at them now. I think how you play

1546
01:12:38,840 –> 01:12:43,519
Speaker 2: in the preseason, even with your fourth stringers, even though

1547
01:12:43,560 –> 01:12:45,920
Speaker 2: it doesn’t matter in the end in terms of the score,

1548
01:12:46,560 –> 01:12:49,200
Speaker 2: how you play matters, and I think it affects how

1549
01:12:49,240 –> 01:12:51,439
Speaker 2: you play throughout the season, and it can almost be

1550
01:12:51,640 –> 01:12:53,920
Speaker 2: kind of like a little preview of what a team

1551
01:12:54,000 –> 01:12:57,480
Speaker 2: could be because their top to bottom talent, their intensity,

1552
01:12:57,520 –> 01:13:00,920
Speaker 2: how they’re playing that might shine through. And I just

1553
01:13:00,960 –> 01:13:04,640
Speaker 2: remember leaving that Seattle game being really impressed with the Seahawks,

1554
01:13:04,880 –> 01:13:06,760
Speaker 2: kind of going into it not really sure what they

1555
01:13:06,760 –> 01:13:09,080
Speaker 2: are going to be, and coming away thinking, I think

1556
01:13:09,080 –> 01:13:11,559
Speaker 2: they might be really good. And now they’re the one

1557
01:13:11,600 –> 01:13:13,280
Speaker 2: seed in the NFC and we think they might go

1558
01:13:13,360 –> 01:13:16,240
Speaker 2: to the Super Bowl and win it. So I use

1559
01:13:16,280 –> 01:13:18,599
Speaker 2: all this to say, I hope and we’re all getting

1560
01:13:18,600 –> 01:13:21,599
Speaker 2: together in August and watching the Chiefs in the preseason,

1561
01:13:21,760 –> 01:13:23,880
Speaker 2: particularly after a season like the one we just had,

1562
01:13:24,160 –> 01:13:26,800
Speaker 2: I hope we come away from those preseason games saying, hey,

1563
01:13:26,840 –> 01:13:28,960
Speaker 2: I think these are the Chiefs that we know they

1564
01:13:28,960 –> 01:13:31,360
Speaker 2: can be. This is the team we expected because they’re

1565
01:13:31,400 –> 01:13:35,520
Speaker 2: playing a certain way, a certain impressive caliber of football

1566
01:13:35,840 –> 01:13:38,760
Speaker 2: that we’re accustomed to, right, And hopefully that could be

1567
01:13:38,760 –> 01:13:40,800
Speaker 2: a preview for a great Chief season to come.

1568
01:13:41,240 –> 01:13:43,400
Speaker 3: And I’ll tag that with when I first started with

1569
01:13:43,439 –> 01:13:46,799
Speaker 3: the Chiefs, it felt like those preseason games that winning

1570
01:13:47,040 –> 01:13:49,880
Speaker 3: was of paramount importance. I can remember Andy Reid talking

1571
01:13:49,920 –> 01:13:52,040
Speaker 3: about how important it was to win in the preseason,

1572
01:13:52,520 –> 01:13:55,240
Speaker 3: and that’s why that last preseason game when they lost

1573
01:13:55,280 –> 01:13:57,679
Speaker 3: the lead against the Bears, it actually kind of stung

1574
01:13:57,760 –> 01:13:59,800
Speaker 3: I thought, well, that’s not the way it normally goes

1575
01:14:00,080 –> 01:14:03,320
Speaker 3: round here. Winning in the preseason does matter, so I

1576
01:14:03,479 –> 01:14:05,880
Speaker 3: echo that. I think winning all the time is a

1577
01:14:05,880 –> 01:14:08,080
Speaker 3: part of the culture, and I expect the Chiefs to

1578
01:14:08,080 –> 01:14:10,560
Speaker 3: win a bunch of preseason game six. You’re now to

1579
01:14:10,640 –> 01:14:11,959
Speaker 3: Minch for your final thought.

1580
01:14:11,960 –> 01:14:15,559
Speaker 1: Well, let me tag both of your thoughts. First, it’s

1581
01:14:15,600 –> 01:14:17,400
Speaker 1: going to be so much harder for a dynasty the

1582
01:14:17,439 –> 01:14:21,040
Speaker 1: seventeenth game, and that seventeenth game is against the best

1583
01:14:21,080 –> 01:14:23,960
Speaker 1: team from the other conference from the year before. To

1584
01:14:24,320 –> 01:14:29,200
Speaker 1: the proliferation of the international games makes it much more difficult.

1585
01:14:30,240 –> 01:14:33,360
Speaker 1: It’s hard to do, and I’m with Matt. Matt and

1586
01:14:33,400 –> 01:14:35,679
Speaker 1: I have talked about this a lot. You’ve not called,

1587
01:14:35,720 –> 01:14:38,639
Speaker 1: nor have I a preseason win for two years are Yeah,

1588
01:14:39,080 –> 01:14:42,920
Speaker 1: it’s been for an over now. They don’t count, but

1589
01:14:43,000 –> 01:14:45,120
Speaker 1: they matter. They count when you lose them all and

1590
01:14:45,120 –> 01:14:47,320
Speaker 1: it gives you an indication of the guts of your roster.

1591
01:14:48,640 –> 01:14:51,800
Speaker 1: My closing thought is a team can be scheduled out

1592
01:14:51,800 –> 01:14:56,120
Speaker 1: of a season. You had two preseason games are close

1593
01:14:56,160 –> 01:14:58,920
Speaker 1: to you. You’re at Seattle in Arizona. We got back

1594
01:14:58,960 –> 01:15:01,240
Speaker 1: at six am. Yeah, and we’re in that we’re in

1595
01:15:01,320 –> 01:15:03,680
Speaker 1: the middle of camp or trying to figure out get

1596
01:15:03,680 –> 01:15:07,280
Speaker 1: our roster. Keep in mind we’ve had the shortest preseason

1597
01:15:07,280 –> 01:15:08,200
Speaker 1: for what three years in a row?

1598
01:15:08,200 –> 01:15:08,880
Speaker 2: Three years in a row.

1599
01:15:08,920 –> 01:15:12,879
Speaker 1: Yeah, the shortest preseason. We started playing two preseason games

1600
01:15:12,920 –> 01:15:17,040
Speaker 1: at Seattle and are Arizona. We started the season at Brazil.

1601
01:15:17,400 –> 01:15:19,600
Speaker 1: We waited on a plane for two hours before we

1602
01:15:19,680 –> 01:15:21,639
Speaker 1: left to take it a ten and a half hour flight,

1603
01:15:21,960 –> 01:15:23,920
Speaker 1: to lose two hours, to go an hour and a

1604
01:15:23,920 –> 01:15:26,679
Speaker 1: half through customs, to drive almost two hours across town.

1605
01:15:27,000 –> 01:15:28,040
Speaker 1: That was just to get there.

1606
01:15:28,080 –> 01:15:28,720
Speaker 2: Well you put it that.

1607
01:15:28,720 –> 01:15:32,920
Speaker 1: Well, now, man, we’re not done because we also played

1608
01:15:32,920 –> 01:15:35,760
Speaker 1: Monday night on the road and Sunday night on the

1609
01:15:35,840 –> 01:15:39,679
Speaker 1: road all before Columbus Day. All of that was packed

1610
01:15:39,720 –> 01:15:42,559
Speaker 1: in before Columbus Day. To me, this team a tired

1611
01:15:42,600 –> 01:15:46,479
Speaker 1: team anyway. Stretching the rubber band was given little chance

1612
01:15:47,160 –> 01:15:49,600
Speaker 1: because we got thrown into the fire right out of

1613
01:15:49,640 –> 01:15:53,880
Speaker 1: the gut. So you can schedule, when the schedule comes out,

1614
01:15:53,920 –> 01:15:57,759
Speaker 1: who plays whom, When who’s got who’s got the international games?

1615
01:15:57,800 –> 01:16:01,320
Speaker 1: Where are they setting? And even for us like the

1616
01:16:01,360 –> 01:16:04,320
Speaker 1: preseason games, which is why I’m looking at your background

1617
01:16:04,320 –> 01:16:06,280
Speaker 1: and I still see Australia on there.

1618
01:16:06,600 –> 01:16:07,040
Speaker 2: That’s right.

1619
01:16:08,439 –> 01:16:12,320
Speaker 1: I see Australia right behind Geha Field at Arrowhead and

1620
01:16:12,360 –> 01:16:14,160
Speaker 1: the first game is probably going to be an Australia.

1621
01:16:14,320 –> 01:16:16,240
Speaker 1: I don’t want to I love Australia. I want to

1622
01:16:16,280 –> 01:16:17,600
Speaker 1: go there. I don’t want to play the Rams in

1623
01:16:17,640 –> 01:16:19,559
Speaker 1: Australia and Nick One just me.

1624
01:16:21,080 –> 01:16:23,400
Speaker 3: Yeah, that’s true, that’s true. But this was so fun.

1625
01:16:23,479 –> 01:16:25,240
Speaker 3: I like having the three of us back together.

1626
01:16:25,439 –> 01:16:25,679
Speaker 1: Yeah.

1627
01:16:25,720 –> 01:16:28,200
Speaker 3: So that’s going to do it for out West guys.

1628
01:16:28,280 –> 01:16:30,200
Speaker 3: This is going to be a fun weekend. I love

1629
01:16:30,240 –> 01:16:33,040
Speaker 3: divisional round and I look forward to talking more playoffs

1630
01:16:33,040 –> 01:16:35,040
Speaker 3: with you guys next week. And I appreciate both of

1631
01:16:35,080 –> 01:16:35,719
Speaker 3: you so much.

1632
01:16:36,439 –> 01:16:39,040
Speaker 1: All Right, thanks to Arian all here long of giving

1633
01:16:39,080 –> 01:16:43,000
Speaker 1: us his expertise and covering the league. Now we pivot.

1634
01:16:43,280 –> 01:16:47,160
Speaker 1: Now we turn to twenty six and basically this is

1635
01:16:47,240 –> 01:16:50,400
Speaker 1: going to happen in sequence. But the first thing we

1636
01:16:50,400 –> 01:16:52,599
Speaker 1: need to do is give kudos to chief general Manager

1637
01:16:52,600 –> 01:16:55,760
Speaker 1: of Bredveach and his entire staff. Here’s why you just

1638
01:16:55,840 –> 01:16:57,320
Speaker 1: heard Matt and I in the first part of this

1639
01:16:57,400 –> 01:17:01,000
Speaker 1: podcast breaking down. We had time to do some analysis

1640
01:17:01,240 –> 01:17:04,160
Speaker 1: we’ve never been able to do in ten years. I’m

1641
01:17:04,200 –> 01:17:09,559
Speaker 1: going through ten played defensive efficiency, scoring, deficiency, efficiency. Brett

1642
01:17:09,600 –> 01:17:12,080
Speaker 1: Veach has had to do both. Otherwise, you and I

1643
01:17:12,120 –> 01:17:14,599
Speaker 1: for ten years have been getting ready for oh, would

1644
01:17:14,600 –> 01:17:16,320
Speaker 1: be the Houston game, or we’re getting ready for the

1645
01:17:16,320 –> 01:17:19,680
Speaker 1: Denver game here in the playoffs, or we got to

1646
01:17:19,680 –> 01:17:22,040
Speaker 1: go to New England, or no, we’re sitting here doing

1647
01:17:22,040 –> 01:17:25,240
Speaker 1: deep dives. What fans need to know is that for

1648
01:17:25,360 –> 01:17:29,080
Speaker 1: ten years plus, Brett Veach and his crew, and since

1649
01:17:29,120 –> 01:17:31,600
Speaker 1: Brett took over his gym and John Dorsey before that,

1650
01:17:32,680 –> 01:17:34,720
Speaker 1: they have to have done both. They’ve had to do

1651
01:17:34,760 –> 01:17:38,519
Speaker 1: both of this for ten years, Like they have to

1652
01:17:38,520 –> 01:17:40,439
Speaker 1: do all the deep dive and looking at where do

1653
01:17:40,479 –> 01:17:42,879
Speaker 1: we fix and where’s our board and in the meantime

1654
01:17:42,960 –> 01:17:46,360
Speaker 1: still have a season going on where it’s intense and

1655
01:17:46,400 –> 01:17:48,479
Speaker 1: trying to get to the super Bowl. It blows me

1656
01:17:48,560 –> 01:17:51,640
Speaker 1: away how much Brett Veach and his crew has to

1657
01:17:51,640 –> 01:17:54,479
Speaker 1: be on point all the time, especially what they’ve done

1658
01:17:54,520 –> 01:17:55,000
Speaker 1: of the past.

1659
01:17:55,000 –> 01:17:57,920
Speaker 2: Dick I liked after twenty two and twenty three when

1660
01:17:57,920 –> 01:18:00,559
Speaker 2: he would text you the picture of their after room.

1661
01:18:00,640 –> 01:18:03,679
Speaker 2: They’re like them watching prospects the day after the parade.

1662
01:18:03,920 –> 01:18:07,040
Speaker 1: Yeah, we’re all in kind of a post parade stupor yeah,

1663
01:18:07,120 –> 01:18:09,439
Speaker 1: and they’re like in there at seven.

1664
01:18:09,280 –> 01:18:13,000
Speaker 2: O’clock grinding linebacker tape. I’m got these guys, you know,

1665
01:18:13,080 –> 01:18:15,240
Speaker 2: what kind of life do they have? Wellthough, the commitment

1666
01:18:15,280 –> 01:18:20,120
Speaker 2: is incredible, and that’s why Brett and the front office

1667
01:18:20,320 –> 01:18:23,920
Speaker 2: deserve the benefit of the doubt here. That what’s so

1668
01:18:24,280 –> 01:18:26,840
Speaker 2: remarkable about this past season, the reason it kind of

1669
01:18:26,840 –> 01:18:30,559
Speaker 2: stings so much is we’re not used to it. This team,

1670
01:18:30,760 –> 01:18:34,320
Speaker 2: since twenty thirteen, had a winning season every single year,

1671
01:18:34,560 –> 01:18:36,799
Speaker 2: went to the playoffs every single year, with the exception

1672
01:18:36,840 –> 01:18:40,040
Speaker 2: of twenty fourteen, won the division every single year since

1673
01:18:40,040 –> 01:18:44,160
Speaker 2: twenty sixteen. Then this year happens and it’s like, whoa, Like,

1674
01:18:44,240 –> 01:18:46,320
Speaker 2: what happened? We’re not used to this. We’re not used

1675
01:18:46,320 –> 01:18:48,120
Speaker 2: to it because Brett veach in this front office and

1676
01:18:48,160 –> 01:18:52,040
Speaker 2: coach reading the coaching staff every single year with no

1677
01:18:52,240 –> 01:18:54,759
Speaker 2: time to really do it and prepare, when other teams

1678
01:18:54,760 –> 01:18:56,960
Speaker 2: have all the time in the world to prepare, finding

1679
01:18:56,960 –> 01:18:59,480
Speaker 2: ways to turn things over and put out a championship

1680
01:18:59,560 –> 01:19:01,760
Speaker 2: level team. If you look at some of the teams

1681
01:19:01,800 –> 01:19:03,600
Speaker 2: that are in the playoffs this year, a lot of

1682
01:19:03,640 –> 01:19:07,080
Speaker 2: them missed last year. I think about New England, right,

1683
01:19:07,520 –> 01:19:10,240
Speaker 2: New England goes three to fourteen. Last year they had

1684
01:19:10,280 –> 01:19:13,839
Speaker 2: plenty of time to turn things over into pivot before

1685
01:19:14,040 –> 01:19:16,839
Speaker 2: this season. That’s normally the case. That’s how the NFL

1686
01:19:16,960 –> 01:19:20,360
Speaker 2: is designed, as you’re supposed to have teams every single

1687
01:19:20,400 –> 01:19:22,120
Speaker 2: year that have a shot, and teams that weren’t very

1688
01:19:22,120 –> 01:19:24,160
Speaker 2: good the year prior they have a shot the next year.

1689
01:19:24,760 –> 01:19:26,960
Speaker 2: It’s designed that way. They have more time, more money,

1690
01:19:27,000 –> 01:19:30,160
Speaker 2: a higher draft pick, all that stuff. The Chiefs year

1691
01:19:30,200 –> 01:19:33,280
Speaker 2: after year found a way to sustain success to spite

1692
01:19:33,920 –> 01:19:37,679
Speaker 2: many disadvantages. Right, And one thing I’m excited about again

1693
01:19:37,720 –> 01:19:40,479
Speaker 2: this year is for the first time in forever, we

1694
01:19:40,560 –> 01:19:43,400
Speaker 2: actually have that advantage and we have the people in

1695
01:19:43,520 –> 01:19:47,160
Speaker 2: charge that for years one despite not having it. Now

1696
01:19:47,200 –> 01:19:49,200
Speaker 2: they have it. The question is how do they use it?

1697
01:19:49,320 –> 01:19:51,280
Speaker 2: And that’s something I’m fired up about this offseason.

1698
01:19:51,760 –> 01:19:54,320
Speaker 1: Yeah, this is your neighbor Jeff, running a marathon and

1699
01:19:54,320 –> 01:19:56,639
Speaker 1: fixing your HVAC all at the same time. That’s what Brett

1700
01:19:56,720 –> 01:20:02,320
Speaker 1: Veach has had to do in his staff. So they’re

1701
01:20:02,320 –> 01:20:05,240
Speaker 1: involved in the next sequence of events that I’m going

1702
01:20:05,280 –> 01:20:08,439
Speaker 1: to give you Between now and let’s say the start

1703
01:20:08,479 –> 01:20:11,639
Speaker 1: of free agency, which is the official start of the year. Well,

1704
01:20:11,680 –> 01:20:13,679
Speaker 1: these other teams are slugging it out in the playoffs

1705
01:20:13,720 –> 01:20:18,280
Speaker 1: where we normally are, we’re now looking at a first

1706
01:20:18,280 –> 01:20:20,760
Speaker 1: of all, as staff. You look at staff, and we’ve

1707
01:20:20,800 –> 01:20:25,240
Speaker 1: seen these head coaching positions come open, some very surprising

1708
01:20:25,760 –> 01:20:28,840
Speaker 1: Ravens and Steelers come to mind. You’re talking shocking are

1709
01:20:28,840 –> 01:20:32,759
Speaker 1: combined almost forty years of head coach. Two head coaches

1710
01:20:32,800 –> 01:20:35,439
Speaker 1: in that spot, those spots that are those jobs are

1711
01:20:35,439 –> 01:20:39,000
Speaker 1: both now open. Two super Bowl championships. It’s a lot

1712
01:20:39,040 –> 01:20:41,760
Speaker 1: that’s cataclysmic. It reminds me of coach Reid when he

1713
01:20:41,840 –> 01:20:44,960
Speaker 1: got let go by the Eagles in twenty twelve, December

1714
01:20:44,960 –> 01:20:48,240
Speaker 1: thirty one. It’s that with Tomlin and Harbaugh being in

1715
01:20:48,280 –> 01:20:50,880
Speaker 1: the market, it’s a game changer out there, all right.

1716
01:20:51,280 –> 01:20:54,840
Speaker 1: But the Chiefs look at their own staff and Coach

1717
01:20:54,880 –> 01:20:58,040
Speaker 1: Reed looks at the staff and evaluates everybody on the staff.

1718
01:20:58,360 –> 01:21:01,320
Speaker 1: Some you lose. We’ve been fortunate to keep this staff

1719
01:21:01,360 –> 01:21:03,880
Speaker 1: together for a long time for the most part, but

1720
01:21:04,600 –> 01:21:07,639
Speaker 1: you always lose guys, and some you’re looking at maybe

1721
01:21:07,760 –> 01:21:10,040
Speaker 1: ways of improving, and we’re going to see a lot

1722
01:21:10,040 –> 01:21:12,040
Speaker 1: of this happen, I think over the next several days.

1723
01:21:12,360 –> 01:21:15,960
Speaker 1: But that’s the first stage, is the inward look of

1724
01:21:16,080 –> 01:21:20,720
Speaker 1: who’s getting invited to interview and then who maybe do

1725
01:21:20,800 –> 01:21:24,960
Speaker 1: you make room for or make a position group swhich

1726
01:21:26,479 –> 01:21:28,160
Speaker 1: and look at your own staff and go, we’ve got

1727
01:21:28,160 –> 01:21:29,479
Speaker 1: to get better in certain areas.

1728
01:21:29,800 –> 01:21:33,960
Speaker 2: Yeah, And I don’t think it’s only limited to changes.

1729
01:21:34,080 –> 01:21:36,479
Speaker 2: I think it’s also an opportunity for self reflection.

1730
01:21:37,000 –> 01:21:37,200
Speaker 1: Right.

1731
01:21:37,680 –> 01:21:41,679
Speaker 2: I think one of the best attributes of a champion,

1732
01:21:41,840 –> 01:21:44,559
Speaker 2: of someone who’s really good at what they do, is

1733
01:21:44,600 –> 01:21:47,599
Speaker 2: they’re able to reflect and say, hey, this works really well,

1734
01:21:47,800 –> 01:21:48,920
Speaker 2: or hey I can do this better.

1735
01:21:49,040 –> 01:21:49,200
Speaker 1: Right.

1736
01:21:49,320 –> 01:21:51,600
Speaker 2: I think anyone does that in any profession, And I

1737
01:21:51,600 –> 01:21:54,120
Speaker 2: think this is a great opportunity for there to be

1738
01:21:54,160 –> 01:21:56,920
Speaker 2: a lot of self reflection on hey, these things didn’t

1739
01:21:56,920 –> 01:21:59,320
Speaker 2: work out so well, or we did these things well,

1740
01:21:59,320 –> 01:22:02,200
Speaker 2: how do we build on that? And you know, part

1741
01:22:02,280 –> 01:22:04,720
Speaker 2: of fixing some of the issues we ran into this

1742
01:22:04,840 –> 01:22:08,400
Speaker 2: year isn’t all about just adding new players. It’s of

1743
01:22:08,439 –> 01:22:10,840
Speaker 2: developing the guys that we currently have. And we have

1744
01:22:10,880 –> 01:22:14,519
Speaker 2: a lot of really exciting young players who showed us

1745
01:22:14,520 –> 01:22:16,280
Speaker 2: some things I think over the last couple of weeks

1746
01:22:16,520 –> 01:22:19,120
Speaker 2: and that we know are have great potential and it’s

1747
01:22:19,120 –> 01:22:22,839
Speaker 2: a matter of developing them. So, whether it be changes

1748
01:22:22,840 –> 01:22:27,280
Speaker 2: on the coaching staff or just new methods new ideas

1749
01:22:27,320 –> 01:22:30,000
Speaker 2: on how to get the most out of the players.

1750
01:22:29,680 –> 01:22:30,160
Speaker 1: That we have.

1751
01:22:30,640 –> 01:22:33,080
Speaker 2: This is an opportunity to think through those things. And

1752
01:22:33,320 –> 01:22:35,000
Speaker 2: you know, there’s some young players on this team that

1753
01:22:35,040 –> 01:22:38,360
Speaker 2: I’m really excited about, Guys like Josh Simmons, Brishard Smith,

1754
01:22:39,000 –> 01:22:42,960
Speaker 2: Espole comes out of nowhere defensively, Noel Williams really impressive

1755
01:22:43,320 –> 01:22:46,240
Speaker 2: to close out the year. Aston Gelotti showed us some

1756
01:22:46,240 –> 01:22:48,960
Speaker 2: stuff over the course of the season at wide receiver,

1757
01:22:49,040 –> 01:22:51,680
Speaker 2: Guys like Xavier Worthy, all the potential and talent in

1758
01:22:51,720 –> 01:22:55,719
Speaker 2: the world. A lot of opportunities to have those players

1759
01:22:55,720 –> 01:22:57,760
Speaker 2: maybe take their game to the next level. And I

1760
01:22:57,800 –> 01:23:00,960
Speaker 2: think from a coaching point of view, it’s not always

1761
01:23:01,040 –> 01:23:05,440
Speaker 2: just new messages. It could just be reflecting this offseason

1762
01:23:05,439 –> 01:23:08,080
Speaker 2: on hey, maybe we try this or we try that.

1763
01:23:08,760 –> 01:23:12,040
Speaker 2: There’s a chance for that. So it’s not always about

1764
01:23:12,080 –> 01:23:14,880
Speaker 2: just adding new faces and new players. It’s also about

1765
01:23:14,880 –> 01:23:16,759
Speaker 2: making sure we’re getting the most out of the guys

1766
01:23:16,760 –> 01:23:17,080
Speaker 2: we have.

1767
01:23:17,600 –> 01:23:19,640
Speaker 1: That’s an excellent point, and that’s a point that I

1768
01:23:19,640 –> 01:23:23,960
Speaker 1: think it’s overlooked because it’s less sexty because the next stage,

1769
01:23:24,000 –> 01:23:26,280
Speaker 1: after you get your staff set or you know who’s

1770
01:23:26,320 –> 01:23:30,000
Speaker 1: gone and who you’ve hired, and this again happens now,

1771
01:23:30,080 –> 01:23:32,200
Speaker 1: it’s going to happen in the next several days or

1772
01:23:32,760 –> 01:23:35,479
Speaker 1: some of that’s predicated on teams in the playoffs and

1773
01:23:35,479 –> 01:23:39,799
Speaker 1: when they exit the playoffs and so forth. But another

1774
01:23:39,840 –> 01:23:43,040
Speaker 1: phase is whom do you keep them your current roster

1775
01:23:43,560 –> 01:23:45,759
Speaker 1: that would be free agents that you want to resign.

1776
01:23:46,200 –> 01:23:48,920
Speaker 1: That’s the first box you check, and then next is

1777
01:23:48,960 –> 01:23:52,040
Speaker 1: what free agents do you target? But a dotted line,

1778
01:23:52,040 –> 01:23:55,280
Speaker 1: parallel box is what you’ve alluded to that must happen,

1779
01:23:55,760 –> 01:23:58,960
Speaker 1: that must happen, and has happened in this franchise, especially

1780
01:23:59,040 –> 01:24:02,920
Speaker 1: like the class of twenty two, is you coach them up,

1781
01:24:03,240 –> 01:24:07,120
Speaker 1: you make them better. And right now, who the crosshairs

1782
01:24:07,120 –> 01:24:10,000
Speaker 1: are on are the classes of twenty five, twenty four

1783
01:24:10,000 –> 01:24:13,559
Speaker 1: and twenty three that are still under contract. Jaden Hicks,

1784
01:24:14,200 –> 01:24:19,920
Speaker 1: Jared Wiley. Going down the line here with different players Kingsley, Suamatia,

1785
01:24:20,560 –> 01:24:21,639
Speaker 1: Felix and u dk.

1786
01:24:21,680 –> 01:24:24,120
Speaker 2: Is and Kingsley is a good example of this because

1787
01:24:24,200 –> 01:24:27,400
Speaker 2: Kingsley goes from being a tackle who struggled to whole

1788
01:24:27,439 –> 01:24:30,120
Speaker 2: new position at guard. I think we both agree Kingsley

1789
01:24:30,120 –> 01:24:32,080
Speaker 2: had a pretty good season at guard and we’re excited

1790
01:24:32,080 –> 01:24:33,520
Speaker 2: about him moving forward.

1791
01:24:33,360 –> 01:24:35,200
Speaker 1: In fact, those four guys, if you go right down

1792
01:24:35,640 –> 01:24:38,840
Speaker 1: about right tackle, but you go down Trey, Creed, Kingsley,

1793
01:24:38,880 –> 01:24:41,880
Speaker 1: and Simmons, that’s gonna be that’s gonna be a really

1794
01:24:41,880 –> 01:24:44,960
Speaker 1: good good Okay, but you catch my point. The classes

1795
01:24:45,000 –> 01:24:46,880
Speaker 1: of twenty three, twenty four, and twenty five that are

1796
01:24:46,920 –> 01:24:49,920
Speaker 1: under contract now that you keep, you’ve got to coach

1797
01:24:49,960 –> 01:24:53,040
Speaker 1: them up and make them better. Jayden Hicks, to me,

1798
01:24:53,160 –> 01:24:55,760
Speaker 1: is like one of the exhibit a’s of this, But

1799
01:24:55,800 –> 01:24:58,160
Speaker 1: we can look at other players throughout the roster that

1800
01:24:58,200 –> 01:25:01,920
Speaker 1: fit this category. Your point is very well taken. The

1801
01:25:02,000 –> 01:25:04,000
Speaker 1: second point is, then who do you keep of your

1802
01:25:04,200 –> 01:25:07,080
Speaker 1: impending free agents? This is the class of twenty twenty six,

1803
01:25:07,280 –> 01:25:10,400
Speaker 1: I mean twenty twenty two, who are now up. You

1804
01:25:10,439 –> 01:25:14,200
Speaker 1: can only extend the first round picks everybody else. You

1805
01:25:14,280 –> 01:25:18,200
Speaker 1: got to decide who stays who goes. That’s the decision box,

1806
01:25:18,600 –> 01:25:20,800
Speaker 1: and then you target free agents to go get. But

1807
01:25:20,880 –> 01:25:24,360
Speaker 1: we also have seen everybody sees the list of potential

1808
01:25:24,400 –> 01:25:26,840
Speaker 1: free agents and just goes nuts. Let’s have this guy,

1809
01:25:26,880 –> 01:25:30,000
Speaker 1: this guy, this guy, and this guy. Most of them.

1810
01:25:30,640 –> 01:25:33,160
Speaker 1: Every team in the league goes through this sequence that

1811
01:25:33,200 –> 01:25:36,920
Speaker 1: we’re giving you. Most of them resigned with their team. Yeah,

1812
01:25:36,960 –> 01:25:42,000
Speaker 1: and so don’t get tricked into thinking, wow, this is

1813
01:25:42,040 –> 01:25:44,799
Speaker 1: such a great group of free agents, because within forty

1814
01:25:44,800 –> 01:25:47,519
Speaker 1: eight less than forty eight hours or even before free

1815
01:25:47,560 –> 01:25:48,919
Speaker 1: agents who begins, they’re extended.

1816
01:25:49,040 –> 01:25:51,280
Speaker 2: Yeah, it’s tricky if you look at if you go

1817
01:25:51,320 –> 01:25:54,559
Speaker 2: to like overthecap dot com or spot track and you’re

1818
01:25:54,560 –> 01:25:57,280
Speaker 2: looking at like potential free agents. I mean, there’s so

1819
01:25:57,360 –> 01:26:00,120
Speaker 2: much time between now and when free agency opens in

1820
01:26:00,120 –> 01:26:02,519
Speaker 2: early March that guys are going to get franchise tagged,

1821
01:26:02,520 –> 01:26:05,839
Speaker 2: they’re going to get resigned, whatever it’s going to change,

1822
01:26:06,240 –> 01:26:08,599
Speaker 2: still going to be opportunities for the Chiefs to add

1823
01:26:08,600 –> 01:26:12,200
Speaker 2: some players. Though to your point, we currently have twenty

1824
01:26:12,280 –> 01:26:16,719
Speaker 2: three pending unrestricted free agents. So it’s a lot of players,

1825
01:26:16,720 –> 01:26:19,160
Speaker 2: and it’s a lot of recognizable players, particularly from that

1826
01:26:19,200 –> 01:26:23,479
Speaker 2: class of twenty twenty two. You know, you evaluate which

1827
01:26:23,479 –> 01:26:25,080
Speaker 2: guys from that group you want to bring back, and

1828
01:26:25,120 –> 01:26:26,800
Speaker 2: you also look at the landscape of the guys that

1829
01:26:26,800 –> 01:26:28,840
Speaker 2: do make it to free agency from other teams and

1830
01:26:29,320 –> 01:26:32,000
Speaker 2: which ones are you interested in bringing in here. You know,

1831
01:26:32,040 –> 01:26:33,840
Speaker 2: one thing that she’s have been so good about over

1832
01:26:33,840 –> 01:26:37,760
Speaker 2: the years under Brett Veach is not always having to

1833
01:26:37,800 –> 01:26:42,120
Speaker 2: have the big splash, but finding big names that make

1834
01:26:42,160 –> 01:26:46,080
Speaker 2: big contributions like a couple weeks later. So I don’t

1835
01:26:46,080 –> 01:26:48,160
Speaker 2: know what Brett Beach will do. It’s sure maybe they’ll

1836
01:26:48,160 –> 01:26:50,679
Speaker 2: make a few big splash moves. But also like finding

1837
01:26:50,760 –> 01:26:53,720
Speaker 2: guys like Drew Tranquill in the offseason of twenty twenty three,

1838
01:26:55,120 –> 01:26:57,720
Speaker 2: like two weeks after free agency open, like on a

1839
01:26:57,760 –> 01:27:00,080
Speaker 2: Friday at four o’clock, and that player ends up being

1840
01:27:00,160 –> 01:27:04,000
Speaker 2: like critical to a Super Bowl run. Finding guys like

1841
01:27:04,040 –> 01:27:07,320
Speaker 2: that too. So free agency is going to be exciting

1842
01:27:07,560 –> 01:27:10,800
Speaker 2: this year because again, I think there is a mandate

1843
01:27:11,000 –> 01:27:15,000
Speaker 2: right now that last year was not acceptable, right and

1844
01:27:15,080 –> 01:27:17,120
Speaker 2: that’s not just coming from us. Everyone knows that in

1845
01:27:17,160 –> 01:27:20,559
Speaker 2: this building. Bretteach knows that. So this is an exciting

1846
01:27:20,600 –> 01:27:24,120
Speaker 2: offseason in that regard to go into free agency and

1847
01:27:24,160 –> 01:27:25,960
Speaker 2: what you want to do before the draft is you

1848
01:27:26,000 –> 01:27:28,160
Speaker 2: want to set yourself up where you can take the

1849
01:27:28,200 –> 01:27:31,280
Speaker 2: best players available you don’t want to and they did

1850
01:27:31,280 –> 01:27:34,080
Speaker 2: that with offensive tackle last year for example. Like you

1851
01:27:34,120 –> 01:27:36,200
Speaker 2: look at the draft last year, like, hey, if Josh

1852
01:27:36,240 –> 01:27:39,400
Speaker 2: Simmons falls to us, that’d be incredible, that’d be amazing,

1853
01:27:39,520 –> 01:27:41,080
Speaker 2: But you can’t bank on it. You don’t want to

1854
01:27:41,120 –> 01:27:43,280
Speaker 2: go into the draft saying I really hope Josh Simmons

1855
01:27:43,360 –> 01:27:45,200
Speaker 2: falls to us. So you go out there and he

1856
01:27:45,240 –> 01:27:47,400
Speaker 2: signed Jalen Moore, a player that you believe in, and

1857
01:27:47,439 –> 01:27:49,240
Speaker 2: what do you know, Josh Simmons falls to you and

1858
01:27:49,320 –> 01:27:51,840
Speaker 2: you can get even better at that position. But I

1859
01:27:51,880 –> 01:27:54,599
Speaker 2: fully anticipate the Chiefs will do a similar thing this offseason,

1860
01:27:54,640 –> 01:27:57,320
Speaker 2: where you look at the areas you want to improve,

1861
01:27:58,080 –> 01:28:00,680
Speaker 2: and you improve via free agency, and then you go

1862
01:28:00,720 –> 01:28:02,599
Speaker 2: into the draft with an opportunity to take the best

1863
01:28:02,600 –> 01:28:05,760
Speaker 2: players available. And if that means that you keep supplementing

1864
01:28:05,800 –> 01:28:08,679
Speaker 2: those areas that you began free agency trying to address, great,

1865
01:28:08,720 –> 01:28:10,360
Speaker 2: But also maybe it means you end up with some

1866
01:28:10,360 –> 01:28:12,960
Speaker 2: players at positions that you didn’t think were a need,

1867
01:28:13,160 –> 01:28:14,920
Speaker 2: but you get a really good football player at that

1868
01:28:14,960 –> 01:28:18,479
Speaker 2: spot and great value. So it begins with free agency

1869
01:28:18,680 –> 01:28:19,760
Speaker 2: and the draft follows it.

1870
01:28:20,120 –> 01:28:23,679
Speaker 1: Yeah, and another part of this phase. And I don’t

1871
01:28:23,680 –> 01:28:30,800
Speaker 1: know what the German version of spot track is Deutsche

1872
01:28:30,840 –> 01:28:34,880
Speaker 1: Deutsche Deutsche Deutsche track Cap. I’ll think of over the

1873
01:28:34,920 –> 01:28:38,040
Speaker 1: cap in German and have it for the next episode.

1874
01:28:38,040 –> 01:28:40,000
Speaker 1: But if you look at those sites, you’re going, oh

1875
01:28:40,000 –> 01:28:42,080
Speaker 1: my god, we’re fifty eight million over the cap like

1876
01:28:42,120 –> 01:28:42,920
Speaker 1: it’s the apocalypse.

1877
01:28:43,080 –> 01:28:44,519
Speaker 2: Don’t don’t worry about We’re all gonna die.

1878
01:28:44,800 –> 01:28:45,599
Speaker 1: It’ll be figured out.

1879
01:28:45,600 –> 01:28:46,320
Speaker 2: Okay, don’t worry.

1880
01:28:46,360 –> 01:28:49,360
Speaker 1: But there’s already a planned for it. Yeah. But in

1881
01:28:49,400 –> 01:28:52,840
Speaker 1: this phase of what players do we have in free

1882
01:28:52,840 –> 01:28:54,800
Speaker 1: agency that we would like to kind of have come

1883
01:28:54,840 –> 01:28:59,599
Speaker 1: back or who we can afford, is also the era

1884
01:28:59,760 –> 01:29:03,840
Speaker 1: of extensions or restructuring, and we’ve seen that and seeing

1885
01:29:03,880 –> 01:29:06,360
Speaker 1: in every team around the league, most notably the ones

1886
01:29:06,400 –> 01:29:10,000
Speaker 1: with the bigger contracts. You can restructure, you can extend,

1887
01:29:11,560 –> 01:29:13,519
Speaker 1: and we can do our own version of tagging, right

1888
01:29:13,560 –> 01:29:18,880
Speaker 1: whether it’s franchise tag or transitional tag. But the point

1889
01:29:18,960 –> 01:29:22,160
Speaker 1: is you make those decisions now you’re in negotiation with

1890
01:29:22,200 –> 01:29:25,000
Speaker 1: your current players of Okay, we’ve got to free up

1891
01:29:25,000 –> 01:29:27,720
Speaker 1: some space here. We can free up twenty million by

1892
01:29:27,720 –> 01:29:31,040
Speaker 1: doing this restructuring. And that’s part of this phase too,

1893
01:29:31,080 –> 01:29:33,640
Speaker 1: that is happening right now, which again makes it all

1894
01:29:33,680 –> 01:29:35,760
Speaker 1: the more impressive of what Brett Beach has done because

1895
01:29:35,760 –> 01:29:38,320
Speaker 1: I’m thinking he did all this stuff we’re talking about,

1896
01:29:38,520 –> 01:29:40,240
Speaker 1: and you and I aren’t thinking about all this stuff,

1897
01:29:40,280 –> 01:29:42,360
Speaker 1: and we’re talking about if we’re playing football.

1898
01:29:42,560 –> 01:29:45,439
Speaker 2: And this is also why Patrick Mahomes is the ultimate

1899
01:29:45,560 –> 01:29:46,240
Speaker 2: team player.

1900
01:29:46,280 –> 01:29:46,839
Speaker 1: He’s awesome.

1901
01:29:46,880 –> 01:29:50,200
Speaker 2: And why his contract is so beneficial to the Chiefs

1902
01:29:51,080 –> 01:29:53,240
Speaker 2: not in terms of like the money, it’s in terms

1903
01:29:53,240 –> 01:29:55,760
Speaker 2: of the length. The fact that Mahomes signs such a

1904
01:29:55,760 –> 01:29:59,280
Speaker 2: long contract. It allows Brett in the front office to

1905
01:29:59,320 –> 01:30:02,080
Speaker 2: have a runway to know, Hey, if we want to

1906
01:30:02,160 –> 01:30:04,160
Speaker 2: convert some of his money into a signing bonus and

1907
01:30:04,160 –> 01:30:05,920
Speaker 2: spread it out, we can do it over the course

1908
01:30:05,960 –> 01:30:09,120
Speaker 2: of several years. We know how much he’s on the

1909
01:30:09,120 –> 01:30:14,120
Speaker 2: books for in twenty twenty seven. You know, like, it’s

1910
01:30:14,120 –> 01:30:16,120
Speaker 2: so beneficial. You look at a lot of these contracts

1911
01:30:16,160 –> 01:30:19,920
Speaker 2: for quarterbacks around the NFL MAX. They’re six years, right,

1912
01:30:20,000 –> 01:30:22,439
Speaker 2: and that’s a long contract. Normally they’re like three years

1913
01:30:22,439 –> 01:30:24,960
Speaker 2: because the player is just trying to maximize their value

1914
01:30:25,240 –> 01:30:28,240
Speaker 2: every single year. And you know, I don’t blame the

1915
01:30:28,280 –> 01:30:30,439
Speaker 2: player for that, but that is a player trying to

1916
01:30:30,479 –> 01:30:34,760
Speaker 2: maximize their financial gains. Patrick Mahomes when you signed that deal,

1917
01:30:35,360 –> 01:30:37,240
Speaker 2: was thinking about, Hey, I want to win here as

1918
01:30:37,320 –> 01:30:39,960
Speaker 2: much as possible. I want the Chiefs to win as

1919
01:30:40,040 –> 01:30:42,479
Speaker 2: much as possible, and I think we’re going to see

1920
01:30:42,479 –> 01:30:44,559
Speaker 2: it this offseason. We’re having the benefit of a long

1921
01:30:44,600 –> 01:30:47,400
Speaker 2: contract like that with your best player, your franchise player,

1922
01:30:47,439 –> 01:30:50,439
Speaker 2: your quarterback, a future Hall of Famer, and not having

1923
01:30:50,439 –> 01:30:53,160
Speaker 2: to worry about that aspect where his contract is actually

1924
01:30:53,320 –> 01:30:55,840
Speaker 2: a benefit. You can use that to help us right

1925
01:30:55,880 –> 01:30:58,400
Speaker 2: now as opposed to like, oh man and we got

1926
01:30:58,400 –> 01:31:00,600
Speaker 2: to figure out a way to sign him again and

1927
01:31:00,640 –> 01:31:03,600
Speaker 2: all that. It’s just a big benefit. So Patrick Mahomes

1928
01:31:04,000 –> 01:31:07,280
Speaker 2: is the best for a million reasons, but that’s certainly

1929
01:31:07,320 –> 01:31:07,840
Speaker 2: one of them.

1930
01:31:08,240 –> 01:31:10,320
Speaker 1: In thirty two years, I don’t think I’ve ever seen

1931
01:31:10,400 –> 01:31:14,680
Speaker 1: a player because you hear about quarterbacks many time being

1932
01:31:14,720 –> 01:31:18,200
Speaker 1: the extension of their coach and the way they think,

1933
01:31:18,240 –> 01:31:21,640
Speaker 1: and he’s certainly that. I mean, he’s so analytical in

1934
01:31:21,720 –> 01:31:24,519
Speaker 1: the way he prepares. I don’t think in thirty two

1935
01:31:24,600 –> 01:31:28,880
Speaker 1: years I have seen a player that thinks like his

1936
01:31:29,040 –> 01:31:32,639
Speaker 1: general manager. Yeah, he is a general manager And would

1937
01:31:32,640 –> 01:31:36,160
Speaker 1: it stun any of us someday And I don’t know

1938
01:31:36,160 –> 01:31:37,640
Speaker 1: if Britney would allow him to do it or not

1939
01:31:37,800 –> 01:31:41,479
Speaker 1: because of the hours involved, that would it stun you?

1940
01:31:41,520 –> 01:31:44,200
Speaker 1: And that Patrick Mahomes would be a general manager or somebody. Now,

1941
01:31:44,200 –> 01:31:45,080
Speaker 1: he’d be really good at it.

1942
01:31:45,479 –> 01:31:45,799
Speaker 2: Awesome.

1943
01:31:46,439 –> 01:31:49,519
Speaker 1: Yeah, And so all this stuff we’re talking about, He’s like, Yeah,

1944
01:31:49,520 –> 01:31:51,800
Speaker 1: I could do all that one hundred and I’m not

1945
01:31:51,920 –> 01:31:54,920
Speaker 1: sure if we’ve had all the thirty two quarterbacks lined up,

1946
01:31:55,080 –> 01:31:56,200
Speaker 1: how many would be that way.

1947
01:31:56,360 –> 01:32:00,760
Speaker 2: Now, I agree again because most quarter I think, are

1948
01:32:00,800 –> 01:32:03,920
Speaker 2: interested at the end of the day in just maximizing

1949
01:32:03,960 –> 01:32:07,439
Speaker 2: their own personal value and nothing wrong with that. That’s

1950
01:32:07,479 –> 01:32:10,880
Speaker 2: human nature. But Mahomes has found a way to make

1951
01:32:10,920 –> 01:32:12,719
Speaker 2: a lot of money and have a good living while

1952
01:32:12,760 –> 01:32:18,520
Speaker 2: also trying to ensure this organization has success. And this offseason,

1953
01:32:18,560 –> 01:32:20,920
Speaker 2: when we’re in a position where we’re probably going to

1954
01:32:21,000 –> 01:32:23,360
Speaker 2: have some turnover at some positions and make some changes,

1955
01:32:24,040 –> 01:32:26,920
Speaker 2: having that guy with the foresight to give us a

1956
01:32:26,960 –> 01:32:29,160
Speaker 2: contract like this that we can work with, it’s a

1957
01:32:29,160 –> 01:32:32,040
Speaker 2: big benefit. So again, he’s the best for a million reasons,

1958
01:32:32,040 –> 01:32:33,200
Speaker 2: and that’s definitely one of them.

1959
01:32:33,320 –> 01:32:35,840
Speaker 1: Yeah, Chris Jones is another one who could restructure here too.

1960
01:32:36,240 –> 01:32:38,600
Speaker 1: That’s a contract that could you know, you work on

1961
01:32:38,640 –> 01:32:42,120
Speaker 1: getting some caproom. Anyway, that’s where we’re at and it

1962
01:32:42,240 –> 01:32:45,120
Speaker 1: is a big pivot. Now we’ll talk about the draft

1963
01:32:45,280 –> 01:32:50,040
Speaker 1: at nauseum, yes, but it’s really getting ready to get

1964
01:32:50,080 –> 01:32:53,040
Speaker 1: to the combine or get to the start of the

1965
01:32:53,160 –> 01:32:57,360
Speaker 1: NFL year, which happens in March. Early March. But the

1966
01:32:57,400 –> 01:33:01,040
Speaker 1: point is you’ve got to get ready. And that’s where

1967
01:33:01,080 –> 01:33:04,080
Speaker 1: the chiefs are right now, and it’s the big pivot,

1968
01:33:04,520 –> 01:33:07,080
Speaker 1: and that’s where we’re at. We’re pivoting along with the

1969
01:33:07,120 –> 01:33:07,559
Speaker 1: rest of you.

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