Sports Live! With Steve and Justin

Inside The NFL’s Wild Week: Upsets, Seedings, And Sideline Blame

• Steve and Justin

Share episode

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 1:11:46

Week 17 came loaded with reveals: who can adjust on the fly, who’s still living on hype, and which teams quietly built a January identity. We kick off with the Eagles-Bills roller coaster and call out the heart of Philly’s problem: scheme stubbornness over game feel. If you have a premier back and a winning line, control the clock and protect your defense. Buffalo had a chance to deliver a signature win and made the right two-point call, but precision failed at the worst time.

From there we dig into San Francisco’s surge and Brock Purdy’s calm, repeatable throws into tight windows. Even with defensive injuries, the 49ers earned their place at the top by doing the simple things well when it matters most. Contrast that with Detroit, where losing trusted coordinators exposed how rhythm and language drive modern offenses. The Texans, once written off, now look like a playoff problem thanks to a nasty defense and clean situational football, while the Chargers keep bleeding hidden yards in sequencing and red zone execution.

We also zoom out to the chessboard. Steelers-Ravens looks like a trench war where patience beats flash, and 49ers-Seahawks could flip the NFC bracket on a handful of snaps. Then the conversation shifts to legacy and business: Eli Manning’s toughness as a lens for judging quarterbacks, and the Chiefs’ future as Kansas greenlights a domed, state-funded stadium while Kansas City recalibrates around Mahomes, a run game, and a defense that travels. Andy Reid’s timeline becomes a real subplot—window management is as strategic as any Sunday script.

College football couldn’t escape the spotlight. We make the case that expanding the playoff chased money and erased meaning from bowl tradition and conference titles. Michigan’s move for Kyle Whittingham signals stability over splash: a respected defensive coach who can recruit, communicate through NIL churn, and set a foundation that outlasts headlines. If you care about identity, adaptability, and the small decisions that decide big games, this one will meet you where you watch.

If you’re into smart football talk with zero fluff, hit follow, share with a friend, and drop your boldest playoff prediction in a review—we’ll read our favorites on the show.

SPEAKER_02

Well, hello everyone, and welcome back to Sports Live with Steve and Justin. How are you, Justin?

SPEAKER_00

I'm good. How are you, Your Honor?

SPEAKER_02

I'm good. Hanging in. Long day. Holiday kind of wiped me out physically, mentally, and financially.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, me too. How was your Christmas? It was okay. How about yours? It was good. I cooked the prime rib to perfection by accident, which means I made a mistake and it worked in my favor. I was treated very nicely by my family on Christmas. I got a whole bunch of gifts that I had asked for. That was a nice surprise. My kids had a good day. Everybody was happy and smiling. It was a fun Christmas. You mean you got some jet paraphernalia, isn't it? I did not get any jet paraphernalia, but I did open one package that had a pair of green socks in it and some green sweatpants. So I might have to try and find the receipt for those.

SPEAKER_02

Well, we'll get into that. We'll get into that too. I'm sure we will. As anyone listening or anyone that has been on sports radio or listening to sports radio the last few days, there's a lot of as I call armchair experts, like Justin and I are out there. That's a phrase I take from my dad. He used to say armchair experts. And uh it's it's really unbelievable. Who should they won? Should they not have won? Should they try, not have tried, who played, shouldn't have played, draft, not draft, they can't draft, you gotta get all the picks, you don't get all the picks, forget the picks. I don't know. I didn't watch any of those games. I can't watch the Trials.

SPEAKER_00

No, they're not watchable.

Eagles-Bills Breakdown And Coaching Heat

SPEAKER_02

And I can't see the Trials aren't watchable. I mean, I didn't watch any of that, but we saw some. Uh for those of you who know what I'm talking about, that watched a lot of football this weekend. We saw some games that came down to a coin flip that either team could have won. And really, I mean, we saw Buffalo yesterday, and who are they playing? Why am I drawing a blank? Buffalo.

SPEAKER_03

Buffalo. Um Chicago?

SPEAKER_00

No, I'm drawing a blank.

SPEAKER_02

Philadelphia. Philadelphia. Buffalo and Philadelphia. And I have to say, for a guy like me who trashed Philadelphia all year long, they kind of got it together yesterday. I mean, except for the if you don't want to count not having any offense in the third and fourth quarter. But they had, I mean, not have any offense. They had zero offense. They could have just handed the ball back to the other team and they would have had just as many yards.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, tail of two cities yesterday, right? Philadelphia has yet to play a complete football game, in my opinion, this year. They showed different excel in all three phases of the game in different games, but never together this year. And I I did expect them to write the ship, although I know the weather was crappy because Buffalo's defense hasn't been great at all this year. They're really not a great defense.

SPEAKER_02

So they played a little better yesterday.

SPEAKER_00

A little better, but I think that's because Philadelphia is still reeling, right? Philadelphia is kind of smoke and mirrors. Well, I thought, you know, if Buffalo was going to make a statement, it would have been last night because Philly has been vulnerable and the Bills couldn't move the football for most of the game. I mean, they they had a chance to win it at the end. I definitely would have gone for two at the end. I thought it was the right call because you need to win. There's no point in going into overtime. He had the right play call. He just missed this throw. I don't know if the receiver got caught up or was late on his route, but that was that was a good play call as far as I was concerned. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

We talk about the play calling every different teams. They just missed it. They missed. So there are three things wrong with Philadelphia Eagles. The coaches, the coaches, the coaches. They all suck. I don't know what else to say.

SPEAKER_00

I think there's some good coaches on that staff, but the head coach is a clown. I mean, he's just an absolute clown. And I don't know if they're running strictly by analytics, and that's why their offense isn't clicking because there's no feel from anybody. It just doesn't make sense at times. You've got the premier running back in football.

SPEAKER_01

I agree.

49ers, Purdy’s Poise, And Injuries

SPEAKER_00

Run the football. It's it's that simple. If you're if you're calling plays off the sheet because the analytics tells you this is what you should run, you know, if at some point, if it's not working, plan B has to be taking over the play calling and shoving it down the other team's throat with your premier running back. I just don't get it. I really don't. I think it's they've been way too conservative for the talent they have on their offense. I think they put their defense in a terrible position any of these games to have to, you know, fight late in close games. And, you know, it's just not, it looks very much out of sync, and I blame the head coach. I don't know well where else that blame goes. Nobody can call a game. I mean, we know the head coach can't. Yeah, the days of, I mean, maybe Sean McVay is is is kind of that guy, but the days of the West Coast offense and the scripting of 10 to 15 plays and the Bill Walsh style game planning and the real chess matches between head coaches are seemingly non-existent. Especially on some of these offenses. And then the flip side is look at a team like the Ravens or Phil, uh, some of these teams just have zero defense. Last night's game was a shootout, with the exception of you know, the pick six to start the game, the the Bears' defense was non-existent, and then the 49ers, and I know they're missing players. I know they're missing Bosa and Warner and everything else, but you know, everybody keeps talking about Sayla, and he's in a good position. He's still a good defensive coach. Well, you let up 40-something points yesterday. Yeah, whatever it was.

SPEAKER_02

So But I gotta tell you something about if you want to talk about the 49ers a second. I mean, they have a lot of guys out. Yes. But pretty blows my mind sometimes. Playing with house money. That's what a guy looks like. I mean, first of all, he's got nothing to lose. Almost got knocked into next week, and instead of trying to run, he bent over and took the hit, could have saved his life, saved his career this year. I mean, he was gonna get hammered. I was impressed by that. He made the right decision.

SPEAKER_00

I mean, yeah, smart quarterback, tough quarterback, too.

SPEAKER_02

Smart quarterback. He never seems to make a mental mistake. But I mean, that there was a game too, came down to the final seconds. But also, um, I mean, he made some great passes.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, pregame, they spoke to Man, who was the quarterback they were talking to. Was it wasn't Kurt Warner?

SPEAKER_00

Oh, I didn't see that. They they were talking about Purdy, and they were talking about the things that he has to overcome as a quarterback. You know, one of the things they talked about was what we talked about last week when Brady mentioned the height difference between quarterbacks. And Purdy's not a very tall guy, but he makes throws down the field and over the middle that somebody who is six foot four, six foot five would make. Flick receivers. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Flick of the wrist.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. He makes it look easier than it really is. And this is a guy who is the last pick in the draft.

SPEAKER_02

Playing a team that has the first pick in the draft in the same year. So incredible. Also a pretty incredible quarterback.

Lions Slide And Why Coaching Matters

SPEAKER_00

I'll tell you, it's funny. We talked about it last year or earlier in the season. When we talked about the Bears and the Redskins, how the Redskins went on on a run last year and got to the championship game, and their quarterback looked to progress, and he looked very good week in, week out. Caleb Williams, and they played this year again, and you know, Taylor 2 franchises. The Bears won that game and they've been lights out pretty much since then. Caleb Williams seems to be getting better every week. It's almost like a mirror image of Jaden Daniels from last year. And you wonder how far they can go, where they can go. I still think because of their defense, they'll they'll they could get as far as the championship game, but I don't think that's a Super Bowl team. But they're playing very well. I mean, they they were scoring points last night. The 49ers defense seemed not to be it seemed like a bend end break, not a bend but dope break defense. So they have to write the ship there. But San Francisco now is poised to win the division. They win next week, they win the division.

SPEAKER_03

Unbelievable.

SPEAKER_02

So we could talk, some teams have collapsed, and one of them might is the Detroit Lions.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

I mean, last year they lost all these players and still made it pretty far. Didn't win a Super Bowl, but gave it away.

SPEAKER_00

They lost a ton last year. They lost more players last year than this year, but this year they lost their offensive and defensive coordinators. So maybe that's the difference.

SPEAKER_02

Maybe.

SPEAKER_00

It shows you how much coaching matters in this league because they're healthier than they were last year. And I still think they're more talented this year than they were last year. So do I. And, you know, I know that Campbell took over the play calling at some point, and they were trying to get Jameson Williams the ball more, and they've got a premier running back. Really, they have two good running backs, but Gibbs is an all-world talent. And I'm not knocking Montgomery because he's played well, also, but something's amiss there because they have a good defense. They have all the talent you could possibly want on offense. They've got two great wide receivers, they've got a good tight end. It's all there for them. I know Goff is not a lot of people don't like him. A lot of people think he's the problem, but I I don't think it's just him. There's something else going on there, something's missing.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, you wonder if, and you know, I always think it's the owner. So you wonder if, you know, if the coach ends up with two coordinators that he didn't really want, um, weren't his choices, whatever. You wonder if if that's what happens, you know. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00

Well, they're not the Jets and the Giants. Although I don't know they're much better, to be honest.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, I don't know what to say about that.

SPEAKER_00

Disappointing season for them, nonetheless.

SPEAKER_02

I mean, yeah, I mean, they're out of the playoffs, so they're out.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. I think you people expected them to be healthy this year, and that you know, they had every opportunity to make a run, even after the Packers got Micah Parsons. I think, you know, Detroit already had their Micah Parsons in in Hutch. So, you know, nobody expected them to fall back. And they were coming into this season healthy.

SPEAKER_02

So I don't You know who I didn't think looked very good this week is that surprises me is the Chargers.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, the Chargers have kind of been a Jekyll and Hyde team, but they had a there was a call in that game that changed the outcome of the game.

SPEAKER_01

Right.

Texans Rise, Chargers Misses, And AFC Picture

SPEAKER_00

Again, not making excuses because we see it every single week now. But, you know, the Chargers have had some injuries. It's not an excuse. I understand that. They haven't played great the last three weeks. They've been playing well, but not great. But I think we were all surprised to kind of see how that game played out. Uh and then, you know, because I mean, we know Harbaugh is a good coach, so it just seemed like they were missing something in that game, and they were just not clicking on all cylinders, and they just kept coming up short on offense. Because I think their defense is is is good, you know. But at the same time, you know, you're playing the number one defense in football in the Texans. And I think, you know, we wrote the Texans off early in the season because they were playing so abysmal, and now they're looking like uh a playoff team, and I I think do they still have a shot to win the division? I think they do. I think they're a game behind Jacksonville, but they're they're not yet clinched as a playoff team, right? I don't think so.

SPEAKER_02

So week 17.

SPEAKER_00

But that I mean, that was obviously a huge win for the Texans, either way. You know, and sometimes it's that's just the way it is. Two good teams. The Chargers have a really good defense, too. I thought their defense, you know, when I saw them in person this year, I thought they were very stout defense up front. You know, that's where this league is games are won and lost. So to lose to the Texans 20 to 16, I mean, it's not like they got blown out. It just kind of was unexpected the way the game itself played out. So the here it is.

SPEAKER_02

There's in the AFC, there's one playoff spot available. And that's between Pittsburgh and Baltimore, right?

SPEAKER_00

It's between the Steelers and Baltimore, right? And they play each other. Yes. So ironically enough, we talked about that when the Ravens were two and whatever, or whatever they were, three and something, and we were like, they still have a shot to win the division. So you have last game of the season.

SPEAKER_02

So you have Broncos with the lead spot, they're 13 and 3. You have the Patriots next, they're also 13 and 3. You have the Jaguars, they're 12 and 4. You have the Texans who are 11 and 5.

SPEAKER_00

You know, no one is talking about the Jaguars. They're 12-4. No one is talking about them. I don't know anyone knows what to say.

SPEAKER_02

Because they don't believe in the players.

SPEAKER_00

So they they had you know, had all this changeover the first four years, right? Different offensive coordinator kept changing with Trevor Lawrence. It's Trevor Lawrence, he doesn't look like a number one pick, blah, blah, blah. Well, they've they've righted that ship. And here we are, it's year five. And like we always say, you, you know, this is what it looks like when you let a quarterback grow and come into his own and find somebody, you know, especially a coach, whether it's the head coach or the offensive coordinator, that they mesh with that you go from being a robot for the play caller to having autonomy and working with the play caller. And that's what's happened here.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, I kind of amazing they're they're 12-4 in their they're they're three seeds. It's true.

SPEAKER_02

You know another interesting scenario is in the NFC, and that's the 49ers. I know we talked about them a little bit.

SPEAKER_00

I think they're gonna win the division.

SPEAKER_02

If they win and they get home field advantage, they could be home field and they keep winning. They could be home field all the way to the Super Bowl because the Super Bowl's being played there.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. I I think they're I think they're good enough to lose the Super Bowl. I don't think they're good enough to win the Super Bowl.

SPEAKER_02

Depends who they play.

SPEAKER_00

It does depend. I'm sticking with the Rams, but the 49ers could could win a division next week.

SPEAKER_02

I to be honest, if I had money, I'd go with the Rams. I don't think I don't think the Bears. I think when push comes to shove in a tough game, I think the Rams can win. Push comes to shove.

SPEAKER_00

I don't think they're I think they're locked in, right?

SPEAKER_02

I think they are, because they're gonna play they're gonna play either the Panthers or the Buccaneers, right? Whoever whoever comes in on the bubble. Well, the one seed gets the bye, right?

SPEAKER_00

So it's right now they'd play the Packers, it looks like.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, depending on where the um where everybody else comes in.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, you're right. I'm sorry. The Panthers are the four-seed. As of right now, the Bucks could be the four-seed if they beat the Panthers next week, right? Is it they play each other?

NFC Seeding Math And Wildcard Paths

SPEAKER_02

Right. So the Bears would play the Packers. Right. So that that is absolutely true. And then the Eagles would play the Rams.

SPEAKER_00

And the winner of the NFC South would play the 49ers right now. It's either the 49ers or the Seahawks. Because if the Seahawks if the Seahawks lose in the 49ers, do they play each other? Who do the 49ers play? That's the key. Because if they if they win and the Seahawks lose, and I do they play each other? I think they play each other.

SPEAKER_02

I think they do this week.

SPEAKER_03

So there's oh no. Yeah, no. We what am I looking at here? Week 17 versus Carolina?

SPEAKER_00

And the 49ers beat the bear. Oh, this is week 17. That was this week, sorry. Yeah, I I I think they can can win the division still. I guess the that means the Rams can still win the division, but they need both the 49ers and the Seahawks to lose, right? Right. Or do the Seahawks own the tiebreaker over them? Oh no, wait a minute. No, they can't. The Seahawks are no Rams can't win the division. The Seahawks are 13-3 already. The 49ers are 12-4. It all depends on who they play next week, I guess, because I think the 49ers have the tiebreaker over the Seahawks. Either way, those those are the teams that are locked in.

SPEAKER_03

The only team we don't know for sure right now is the Panthers or the Bucks. Yeah, Bucks didn't look good yesterday. No. Or whatever. They're hurting.

SPEAKER_02

I feel bad for the head coach because I mean we could always say about them was they the head coach had a good defensive mind. He had a great defense. What you saw this weekend, you didn't see that defense at all. No. And I have to say, the quarterback's hurting. He's got a bad decision. So you're gonna find out that there's something wrong with him.

SPEAKER_03

The quarterback?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Yeah. You're gonna find out that he's been playing hurt for six weeks.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, he's definitely playing with some sort of injury for sure. Not the same player we saw in the first half of the season. They'll they'll get it together. I hope. I hope, you know, I mean Yeah, next year. Yeah. Yeah. And I mean the Panthers, you know, one week they look like world beaters and the next week they look like the Panthers. I think they're sitting at eight and eight with a chance to win the division, go to the playoffs.

SPEAKER_02

I think no matter whoever wins the Super Bowl this year, we're gonna be surprised.

SPEAKER_03

Based on the field, I mean yeah, I I I yeah.

SPEAKER_00

I mean, if any of these AFC teams win it, I'd be you'd be surprised. If I told you at the beginning of the year, except with the exception of the Bills, right? You'd think maybe the Bills are the one that that get Over the hump and and finally get there. And they don't have to worry about the Chiefs. So the Bills are in a pretty good spot compared to everybody else in terms of experience going into the playoffs.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, but their defense is soft.

SPEAKER_00

It's terrible. It's a sieve.

SPEAKER_02

And you know what? He is he really gonna be able to carry them for three games? I mean, he's pretty close. If Fayette is arguably the best player in the NFL at the moment.

SPEAKER_00

Josh Allen?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. And he's got virtually no one to throw the ball to.

SPEAKER_02

You gotta think he's gonna be MVP. I know I was thinking um, what's his name for the Rams for the longest time? Stafford. I was thinking Stafford from the Rams for the longest time. I'd like to see him get it, but I don't think he's gonna win the day.

SPEAKER_03

I might come down to the final game.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, maybe. I don't know. Listen, I'm gonna take it back. I wouldn't be surprised if the Broncos win the Super Bowl.

Eli’s Toughness, Hall Case, And QB Context

SPEAKER_00

That would surprise me. I know sure. I love Sean Payton. I didn't think they were that close, but their defense is certainly championship caliber defense. And I it's not even close. I mean, they their defense is legit. I mean, they sacked the quarterback, they stopped the run, they can play with anybody in the secondary. So, you know, without with the the Giants game notwithstanding, they're you know, that's the one glaring thing, I think, for me with them is they're susceptible to these to these teams that that can make plays with these high-powered offenses. Not saying that the Giants have a high-powered offense, but you know, who knows where we'd be if the Giants had won that game. Maybe the Patriots would be the one seed. Patriots look good. And it was easy for them to look good yesterday against the Jets because the Jets stayed home. I think they sent the practice squad to play yesterday. But, you know, the Patriots and the and the Broncos, it's it's like the early 2000s, late 90s all over again.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, I mean, would I be surprised if the Patriots won a Super Bowl? Uh I don't know that.

SPEAKER_00

I would be surprised you know if you told me that in the beginning of the year. But right now, if they win, they're good enough to win for sure. Listen.

SPEAKER_02

All we need is one dominant team to go into the playoffs like we're playing hockey, and the goalie stands on his head, one team to play is amazing. And we won't be surprised. On Super Bowl or something. On Super Bowl.

SPEAKER_00

If I had to pick one player right now that's been hot, it'd be your guy, Brock Purdy. He's the last three weeks, he's looked incredible.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And he got hot at the right time. And he was out most of the year. He was hurt. People were saying that they were going to turn it back over to Mac Jones and they shouldn't give it back to Purdy when he comes back. But he's been playing great, man. They were lucky to have Matt Jones. They were lucky to have a serviceable backup, for sure. So the 49ers do play Seattle next weekend. It looks like that game is in San Francisco. That's gonna be a hell of a game. Boy. That's gonna be the game of the week, for sure, because that's gonna determine the entire NFC.

SPEAKER_03

That's incredible. That is incredible.

SPEAKER_00

So it'll come down to the Seahawks and the 49ers, and if the Seahawks, if the Seahawks win, they'll be the one seed, obviously. If the 49ers win, they'll be the one seed, which would make the Seahawks the fifth seed. And the Seahawks would then have to go on the road, right? And they would have to play.

SPEAKER_03

Let's see here.

SPEAKER_00

They would have to play either the Panthers or the Bucks. So their season's not over. I don't know that they have to have home field to win.

SPEAKER_02

I don't know. Look at the eliminated teams for a minute. So you start at the bottom, the Giants. Did we think they were gonna be eliminated at this point? Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00

I took the under on both teams winning games this year.

SPEAKER_02

Cardinals, you know how I feel about them. Yep. Commanders, Saints, Falcons. We're not surprised.

SPEAKER_00

Cowboys? Cowboys were probably a bubble team, whether or not we thought they were a playoff team. Seven and eight. Seven and eight. Maybe they could win the division, but yeah, they blew it.

SPEAKER_02

Lions eight and eight. No, we didn't see that coming. Nope. And then you have the Vikings 8-8.

SPEAKER_00

How do they get how are they gonna feel Sam Darnold a very respectable eight and eight, I have to be honest, considering they got rid of Sam Darnold after going with 13 or 14 wins last year.

SPEAKER_02

How are they gonna feel if he wins the Super Bowl and he's MVP?

SPEAKER_03

I do you think they'll feel more or less worse than Jet fans? I think they'll feel worse.

SPEAKER_02

Because Sam Donald is never gonna be the quarterback he is. Sam Donald's never gonna be the quarterback he is playing for the Jets. No. So that was never coming to pass. Jets are dysfunctional. But the Vikings are moderately dysfunctional, but not like the Jets. And the Vikings knew what they had. And they listened to the media. They listened to the media say, the same old Sam Donald, he collapses at the end of the year.

SPEAKER_00

Well, it's kind of reminds me of Eli Manning a little bit.

SPEAKER_02

You watch not this game, but if you watched last week's game when Sam Donald was a Thursday night or whatever, stepped up, took control of the game, and won a game that everybody thought was over.

SPEAKER_00

So when Eli when Eli took, I think it was year four, took the Giants to the playoffs, and they got beat by Carolina and John Fox.

SPEAKER_02

Bad.

SPEAKER_00

And they were ready to tear this town apart. And it was one of those moments where you say, you know, it reminds me of that Rudyard Kipling poem, you know, if you can keep your head when everybody else is losing theirs, that was a great moment for the Giants in terms of not losing their shit. Excuse my language, because you had a head coach that stabilized the organization and held people accountable and said, look, we're gonna come back from this. It's another step in the process. And in year five, they came out and beat everybody. So, you know, it's a it's a great example of you know having you know a burden hand is worth two in the bush, whatever it's called.

Chiefs Future, Stadium Move, And Mahomes Window

SPEAKER_02

You ever want to think the ever anyone ever says Eli's not a tough quarterback? I have that uh on my computer and everywhere I bought the game from the NFL. The game against the 49ers, I think it was in San Francisco, where he got sacked five times. He got beaten in that game. And not just sacked, leveled. I remember my ex-wife saying to him I think he had over a dozen hits and knockdowns in that game. I remember my ex-wife, how are you supposed to win again? This guy's on his back. I mean, he's getting smashed. Yeah. I mean, she kept saying, Are you kidding me? These guys can't win with this guy. And what did he do? He got back up. Just kept getting back up. Getting back up, played tough, tough, tough, tough. Tough quarterback. He is one of the toughest quarterbacks I've ever seen. And yes, I do believe he belongs in the Hall of Fame. I mean, the guy won two Super Bowls and an MVP. All right. So I don't know what else to say. I think he belongs in the Hall of Fame.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Um, no question he belongs in the Hall of Fame, in my opinion. I think what happened to him at the end of his career was a result of poor and mismanagement from the Giants and Jerry Reese and how they handled that. Because, you know, you look at other places, other organizations, other teams, right? Like when Peyton Manning left the Colts, the Colts were kind of in disarray. And the Broncos took him in knowing they had everything they needed to win, except the quarterback. And you look at the way things ended in New England with Tom Brady, and you know, who's to blame? He can play, he can't play, you know, system this, blah, blah, blah. Well, Brady proved him wrong. He went to Tampa Bay and won, stepped right into that role. Matthew Stafford coming from the Lions and utter dysfunction, right? We know the kid can play quarterback, and he ends up on the Rams with, you know, a good head coach and general manager and people who know what they're doing. And he just came down the field every week like a world beater. And he's still playing at a high level all these years later and it and could win a Super Bowl this year. So yeah, I do 100%. I think Eli took too much criticism early because it's New York, and they say people hear the media and the fans were rabid. But that's why you need somebody like a calm presence, like a Coughlin or even a Joe Torrey, to just ignore all that talking head nonsense and just write the ship and get players to be accountable.

SPEAKER_03

Not as bad as Philadelphia.

SPEAKER_00

That it shocks me. I'm not gonna say they didn't deserve to win the two Super Bowls that they've won, but obviously they wouldn't have won without Saquon last year. I don't I don't think they win the Super Bowl without him because they wouldn't have had the same record to even get there. And that's not saying that either the Cowboys or anybody else in that division could have won, but something going on there that's just anything.

SPEAKER_02

Their defensive plan on Kansas City last year was I don't think Kansas City's ever gonna recover from it. They're gonna have to take themselves totally apart and put them back together to kind of just get it out of their minds.

SPEAKER_00

Kansas City, you mean?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, in the Super Bowl. You're talking about Philadelphia.

SPEAKER_00

You're saying Kansas City won't recover.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. I don't know. I I mean they will one day, but it ain't happening anytime soon.

SPEAKER_00

I would never write off Andy Reid. I think next year for them is gonna be a tough year, obviously. I wouldn't be in a rush to get Patrick Mahomes back to a team that is, you know, depending on what their record is next year. If they're if they're under 500, just let them recover. Um they're talking about him coming back and being ready by the end of September. If he is great, fine. Uh, you know, then then you move forward from there. But they they do need they do need to retool that roster, obviously. They're gonna lose all intents and purposes. Everything looks like Kelsey's gonna retire, but he wasn't he was not the same player he's been in the past anyway. So it's time for them to move forward. All of their talent guys, their talent, skill position players, kind of let them down. They have no running game. Um, they probably need an offensive lineman. So they have some growing to do, but they'll I think in the long run, they'll be okay. I mean, Patrick Mahomes is what, 30 years old? 30, 30, 31? I don't know, he's not that old. So if he can come back from this injury and play well.

SPEAKER_02

Kelsey's not the secret to the team, Mahomes. Yeah. And the thing is, is that there are they get a long way, and he's a tough player, and he's one of the best tight ends, certainly in the league, if not all-time great tight ends. But there's other guys out there like that. I mean, look at Kittle. There are other guys, other tough tight ends out there. There's not other quarterbacks like Mahomes. I mean, they're good quarterbacks, they're different. Yeah. There's there's there's quarterbacks that kind of play like Mahomes, but nobody, I mean, Purdy was like in that realm last night a little bit, but nobody's Mahomes.

SPEAKER_00

No, no. They need to get back to they need to get back to running the football and protecting him from having to be the guy. We talked about in the beginning of the season, those first two games, where it looked like he was just trying to drag the team to the finish line and win games. And that, you know, as good as he is, as great as he is, that's not what you want from your Hall of Fame caliber quarterback, right? So I have faith in Andy Reid to write the ship. They've always drafted good players. You know, they have talent, they do need to get their running game going. They might have that player on the team already in Bashard Smith. I think it's just a matter of bringing bringing along a young player, but they also have to get better on defense.

SPEAKER_03

Their defense wasn't great. But what the heck is going on with the stadium issue in Kansas City?

SPEAKER_02

I mean, uh is this I heard it last week or the week before for the first time. And I said to myself, no, no, no, they can't be talking about Kansas City. The Kansas City Chiefs? Chief, what are you kidding? They're their base is huge.

SPEAKER_00

I mean, they biggest home home field advantage in football.

SPEAKER_02

Seattle, maybe. But I mean, Lamar, I mean, Hunt is the is a legend.

SPEAKER_00

Seattle's loud and the weather plays a factor, but Kansas City has the best home base. They've got more fans coming to those games than anybody else, even when they're terrible.

SPEAKER_02

And they're moving where? Indianapolis or something? Uh uh, Indiana or something?

SPEAKER_00

They're moving north of the border. They're going from Missouri to Kansas. Kansas. Oh, is that is that east and west or north? Oh, they're going to Kansas? Is that what it is? That's where I heard the stadium's being built. Missouri. So they're going. Hold on. I gotta look this up. You got me. It's kind of an out-of-nowhere thing, but you know, here we go with the meanwhile, they're gonna pay millions and billions of dollars to this team.

Metcalf Incident, Fan Behavior, And Accountability

SPEAKER_02

These family is so rich, it's ridiculous. I mean, what what it just we're kind of the full of the Roman Empire going on here, really, dude.

SPEAKER_00

I I I agree. Uh, it's we have front row tickets to the apocalypse for sure.

SPEAKER_02

So, I mean, if you think about it, you know, the Roman Empire fell for 500 years. When the Roman Empire started, the the things that went on at the Coliseum were once a year, sometimes twice a year. At the end of the Roman Empire, they were every day. Yeah, what football is today.

SPEAKER_00

Every day of the week, almost. Right. I agree. I agree.

SPEAKER_01

I gotta I gotta read this stadium.

SPEAKER_00

Oh God, so where are they moving now? And I think that might affect the Kansas City Royals because Kaufman Stadium is, you know, it's an old place. It never was a great place to play. They're gonna need a new place, a new stadium.

SPEAKER_02

So, yes, Kansas City Chiefs are getting a new$3 billion stadium in Wanadote County, Kansas, set to open in 31, the NFL season, moving from their current arrowhead in Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri, as a deal was struck with Kansas officials for significant public funding. The new facility will be state of the art. It better well be able to have things year-round, including potential Super Bowls. Uh location, I already told you, across the state line, costs us$3 billion, agreeing, Kansas agreeing to cover a large portion of that, 70%. That's incredible. Star bonds, which is taxed by another name. The domed stadium, which is translucent roof, natural grass, is it integrated practice facilities, amphitheater, and mixed-use development, expected to be ready in 2031. Why are they moving? Missouri voters rejected a stadium renovation plan, and Kansas offered a lucrative deal to attract the team and entertainment.

SPEAKER_00

I can't, I just can't believe, you know, it's one thing if you're gonna reject the deal because it's public money. I I get that. And I would I would vote no on that too, personally. But we're talking about billionaires. These guys have old, dirty money. Old, old, old money. Old. So so you don't as a this is how detached these billionaires are. It's really always about money. You have no loyalty whatsoever to your fan base, but you expect loyalty back from the fan base. I'm sorry, but there's a huge disconnect there. Talking about 1% of the 1% own these football teams. It is a privilege to own a football team in this country. You're not entitled to it because you have a group of people that make that decision whether or not you're gonna allow someone to own one of these teams. And I just it boggles my mind that they're, you know, so unwilling to move on that and that they're not work willing to work with the with the general public that is their fan base.

unknown

I don't know.

SPEAKER_00

That's sad. Plus, all the people that work there and everybody else that's gonna lose their jobs because of this. You know, it's uh that's unfortunate. But as far as the Chiefs are concerned, I would say, you know, regardless of Mahomes, right? Because you said 2031 they're gonna get that stadium.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

All right, so how old is Patrick Mahomes? He's 30 years old. So if they move into this stadium in 31, he's gonna be at the end of his career, right? So Andy Reed will have a contract. I would imagine the way they're looking at it is they're either gonna move into this stadium with Andy Reed and Mahomes together for one last ride, or he's not Andy Reid's days are officially numbered. I think Patrick Mahomes isn't gonna be the quarterback to lead them into their new what's that?

SPEAKER_02

I think I don't think he's gonna be here next season.

SPEAKER_03

Andy Reed? Yeah. Wow. I know. Why do you say that?

SPEAKER_00

I mean he is 67, but I I don't think the game is passed by.

Michigan’s New Coach And Program Stability

SPEAKER_02

So he's old. I don't I don't think it passed him by, but I I think it was pretty evident. I don't know, everything looks a little jumpy the video all of a sudden, but and it's in my own computer. Yeah, I I'm noticing that. Um I I think that for the first time in history, Andy Reid has always been the number one person, I think, at Being in trouble after the first half, going in and adapting his game plan and winning the game based on the his ability to change and adapt to win the game. Change strategy. Never ever so set on a strategy that he doesn't make the changes and gets creamed. He always could think on his feet.

SPEAKER_01

Belichick also did that really well.

SPEAKER_02

But I think Andy Reid didn't do that this year for the first time in history.

SPEAKER_00

Well, that may be a quarterback issue if there's some sort of struggle with you know uh play calling. But looking forward for them, if I'm ownership, I don't know that I want to get rid of Andy Reed just yet. Unless you have somebody that you think is gonna lead the franchise into the future and into the next chapter when you get into the stadium, because you, you know, you don't want to bring a you don't want to bring a team that's not well coached into a new stadium in a new city and expect people to show up. I think, you know, Andy Reid's the guy you want, even though he'll be 70 something years old at that point. Maybe he does a Mike Holmgrin and moves into the front office somewhere, but boy, I'll tell you, that's there's a lot going on there.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I don't know what to say. I I just don't think I think there was something to it.

SPEAKER_00

I don't think Andy Reed goes anywhere unless Patrick Mahomes has an issue with him because they're not gonna get rid of Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes being hurt is gonna extend Andy Reid at least for the year. I can't imagine they're gonna bring in a new head coach because, you know, unless Andy Reed retires, right? If he that could be, he might not have it in him. He might say, you know what, I'm done. I've I've won Super Bowls, I've had enough. Patrick is young enough where they should get a new head coach, and he deserves to be in on the process because if you wait, he's gonna be too old to have that input for a head coach that's gonna probably want his own quarterback.

SPEAKER_02

Well, right now, any coach in the world would take Mahomes.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, right now, 100%. And any team would take Andy Reed as head coach.

SPEAKER_02

That I think that's true. But think I think he's just lost a step. I think he just and it may just be this simple that he doesn't have the heart that he used to have. Not that he can't do what he could used to do, that he's just had enough. I mean you think where he's played his whole life. Think about how he's practically run out of Philadelphia on a rail.

SPEAKER_00

Oh man. I I still can't believe they ran him out of town, but it is what it is, I guess. It's crazy to think that they they ran him out of town, but good coach. They absolutely did. He got a job right away.

SPEAKER_02

He absolutely landed on his feet.

SPEAKER_00

100%. Yeah, that was another one that you could have made the case for the Jets to go knock down his door the minute he got fired and say, please come coach our.

SPEAKER_02

But nobody's gonna go there. Why? Because the ownership sucks. No, the ownership sucks, but then I mean you're more likely you're more likely to go to Dallas.

SPEAKER_00

Well, because it's Dallas.

SPEAKER_02

Because, well, because at least you're you're, you know, on the big field, the great facilities, tons of money, you know, a flashy team. Maybe you get a cheerleader here and there. I mean, in New York, what do you get?

SPEAKER_00

Cement. In New York, you get uh This is where Chicken Cutlets. Chicken cutlets. I love it.

SPEAKER_02

Tommy Cutlets. Did he go anywhere? Or did he just get is he playing?

SPEAKER_00

He's in New England, isn't he?

SPEAKER_02

I don't know.

SPEAKER_00

He's in New England.

College Playoff, Tradition, And Realignment Rant

SPEAKER_02

Oh, that's right. They picked him up. Yeah. So he was. I don't know if he's still. I wonder what he makes now. But you think about it. Where's a guy like him going out? Like, say he makes a million dollars a year. He probably makes less. But I don't know what the contract is. It's gotta be six or seven hundred or eight hundred thousand minimum. Yeah. In the NFL. I mean, you're risking your life every day you walk out there. I mean, you get killed on the sideline getting hit by a ball by guys tackling, you get killed. But um where is he gonna make that? I mean, we're we're unless he's like a real estate mogul and we're missing it.

SPEAKER_00

You know, where is he? It's pretty amazing, really, when you think about it. I mean I think about some of the athletes I know that you you know, when you see them play, you think, man, that guy's really good. And then, you know, when reality strikes, wow, he's not that good. But I still think some of the guys I know are better than that guy. Like, how do these guys have jobs? But that's also that's the NFL, right? The NFL being the business that it is, they don't want to pay anybody anything. They don't want to pay a backup a lot of money to be the backup, no matter how good he is, because that's money they could spend elsewhere because of the salary cap.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. I'm just I'm just reading about him.

SPEAKER_02

So I know I I forgot he went to Don Bosco. Yeah, he's with New England. I'm trying to figure out how much he's getting paid.

SPEAKER_00

18. He's gotta be making like 800 to a million. There it is. 750 worth as much as 915. Oh, that was last year.

SPEAKER_03

Uh let's see. Probably the same. Yeah. My computer's slow.

SPEAKER_00

2025 cap hit is one.

SPEAKER_03

Where'd it go?

SPEAKER_00

It was over a million dollars. Base salary, one million thirty thousand. And then he said unrestricted free agent. Or restricted free agent after that.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I'll probably stay there.

SPEAKER_02

Listen, he can come off the bench and give you some excitement. There's no question about that. You know, I have to tell you something. If he was still on the Giants, I would have put him in instead of Dart and let Dart rest a little bit. Would have pissed Dart off, but who cares?

SPEAKER_00

I I just well, you want to go there? We'll it's it's it's incredulous to me how both of these New York franchises are being run and operated.

SPEAKER_02

But I will say There's a new and exciting topic. How many times are we going to talk about that?

SPEAKER_00

Well, the both franchises are disgusting. They're not run properly right now. The Giants, I'm gonna give them a little bit of a pass because I don't want to disparage John Marrow while he's battling cancer. But the GM has to go. That'll start there. Anyone that called in radio stations today or talking heads, whatever they have to say, the GM is the problem. Period. He didn't want Jackson Dart. Dable wanted Jackson Dart. So you have your number one pick quarterback, and now you're fighting and telling, saying we have to lose games. The Giants should have lost. I'm sick of this, blah, blah, blah, blah. How many more draft picks do you need? You have all this incredible talent on defense and no coaching, right? You have all these players. You straightened out the offensive line. The one guy who stunk got healthy. They were actually not terrible this year. What else do you need? What player is out there if you're a Giants fan, and you have to have the number one pick? Because if you have it, you better use it. Forget about, oh, we're gonna trade it and we're gonna get all this, you know, cap value back and play. Well, how many more players do you need right now?

SPEAKER_02

Who did you say Dable was gonna go coach? Who did you say?

SPEAKER_00

Oh, I said that Dable would get hired by Philadelphia, go back with Saquon and stick it right up the Giants arse and win a Super Bowl. I'll tell you right now, the way he coached Jackson Dart is the same way he would coach Jalen Hurts. So if Jalen Hurts looked as exciting as Jackson Dart did this year, how do you think Philly would do having Saquon at running back? Say what you want. Hurts can play. He's a player. He's a player, but there's some sort of disconnect there. I mean, they have they have all this talent wide receiver and they'll throw the ball.

SPEAKER_02

He's from Alabama, and you know, he wouldn't have played in Alabama if he couldn't play.

SPEAKER_00

Right. That's exactly right. So, and I'm not saying I'm not this is not an advocation for Brian Dable. I'm not I'm not saying that he's the guy for Philly. I'm just saying that it would be so typical of what's going on right now, he could whip that offense into shape. Now, that would be, you know, Saquon would be the deciding factor. Imagine if Saquon wanted him to come.

SPEAKER_02

I'll give you one.

SPEAKER_03

What if what if the infamous coach returns to Philadelphia? Andy Reed? Yeah. Well, I'll tell you, with that running back, forget about it, man.

SPEAKER_02

With that team? He could listen. Say what you want about Andy Reid as an offensive scheme with talent, which is that team has a lot of it. Yeah, man. To pull on a good defensive coordinator from somewhere.

SPEAKER_00

Isn't is who's there to I thought Spagnolo was there. Who's the Philly defensive coordinator? No, I thought Spagnolo was at Kansas City. Oh, you mean taking him with him?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I mean, boy, that'd be something else. That'd be something else. He'd be taking over the reins of a really good team. Talk about sticking it up all over the place, man.

SPEAKER_02

Giants ass, right?

SPEAKER_00

That would be. And they did it to themselves. I mean, the Giants have done it to themselves. You know, I couldn't listen to any more Giants fans at the bar or on the radio calling in and talking on these shows. And I just what they see is incredible. I, you know, watch hard knocks. You'll see everything you need to see watching hard knocks.

SPEAKER_02

Maybe next week we'll take shit.

SPEAKER_00

He's got his feet up on the desk. You traded away the best player in football. Yeah, we're gonna do this. Uh, we'll call you, you know, whatever. Get out, get him his resume. Look at his resume, it's terrible. The guy doesn't belong there.

SPEAKER_02

The year they traded him away. The guy has the greatest year, greatest season ever. Any running back in the history of professional football.

SPEAKER_00

Could have been better. He was so selfless that he said, no, no, I'll I'll wrestle. And won the Super Bowl.

SPEAKER_02

And won the Super Bowl. And took down the legendary team to win the Super Bowl. Took down the dynasty. Dynasty.

SPEAKER_00

I mean, it wasn't New England, but No, but I mean that's the you know, that's the that's the current team that to beat. That's the current black hat.

SPEAKER_02

And not for any anything during that period. I mean, as the dynasty goes, New England was better than anyone I could ever put my hands on.

SPEAKER_00

Beat them, kill their dynasty, and then steal their head coach, maybe.

SPEAKER_02

I mean I mean what else could you ask for? My only thing is that the only team they could never beat were the Giants in the Super Bowl.

SPEAKER_00

Well, I mean, that was two incredible runs by the Giants to take the Patriots.

SPEAKER_02

I mean, I I saw Tom and and uh Eli together on television once, and he goes, Tom's the greatest that ever lived, but I beat him both times. You know, what do you say about it? I don't think that doesn't stick in his own. Oh, it sticks for sure. It must be, because especially especially the undefeated year.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, no doubt. I mean, I think the only thing that, you know, makes it better is leaving and going to Tampa Bay and saying, well, I still took this crappy franchise out of the doldrums and won a Super Bowl for them. And you can turn around and say, I could have done it for the Jets, not. Yeah, but they have an incredible relationship. It's pretty funny to watch them interact and see Tom take ribbings from people when they mention Eli Manning for sure. You know, Spagnola's an interesting choice. He'll probably be on a lot of people's short lists for interviews for head coach. I don't I don't think he's ever gonna be a head coach. No, no, I don't. I mean, never say never, right? But he's he's no, I think they pay him a lot of money to do. He's good in what he does. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

I think they pay him a lot of money to do what he does at the time. To be the coordinator. He gets the big bucks, he gets the million dollars. He doesn't get the five.

SPEAKER_00

You know, if if he's very flexible in terms of philosophy. So it's not like he pigeonholes guys or is locked in, you know, square peg round hole situation where it's we're gonna run a 4-3 and that's it. Or we're gonna run a 3-4 and that's it. They're very, I wouldn't say hybrid minded, but he knows how to get the people on his on his roster to play. And he can get them to play and put them in in position to succeed based on the level of their talent.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Good coach, for sure. Good coach. So we go into the final week. What are we gonna learn?

SPEAKER_00

Well, we'll learn the playoff seedings because everybody, I think, right now that's in the playoffs is still jockeying for position, right? I don't think there's anybody that can take the week off. I think there's I think everybody's playing this week, like for real.

SPEAKER_02

I think there's always one team that folds up and goes home, and another team that plays above their ability, always in the last week, if it's like it is, which it is. It's not always like this. They have a a couple of games, two definitely. I don't know if more than that, they're gonna decide big things. San Francisco game, yep. Steelers Ravens, and Steelers Ravens, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

That Steelers Ravens game is gonna be an absolute war. I mean, I I don't know that either team is is really good enough to be a playoff team, so to speak, but one of them will be in the playoffs. One of them will be the four seed, a division winner, and get a home game. So um looks like for all intents and purposes, they'll be playing the Texans or the Chargers, I guess. I guess the Texans. I think so. What can you say? If you're the Steelers and you have Mike Tomlin and people are calling for Mike Tomlin to be fired, you know, another guy who'll get a job right away. He's in his 50s, he's a young guy, he's a good coach, he's been to the playoffs multiple times, never had a losing season. I I don't know what more people want from him. I understand if you're a Pittsburgh fan, you're frustrated with certain things and you haven't won a Super Bowl in a long time, but he did win you a Super Bowl. Whether or not he needs a change of scenery, I don't know. But he'll if he got fired, he he'd have a job the next day for sure. Um I have to Aaron Rodgers, Aaron Rodgers looking to play. You know, their offense is not is not great. They're their their best offensive weapon that makes their offense a go got suspended, right? DK Metcalf. We didn't even talk about that. Bonehead. So they're playing a man down on Saturday on Sunday against a team that, you know, let's face it, the Ravens haven't been the Ravens. Their defense isn't great. And their offense is going to be without Lamar Jackson. And even if he plays, he's not healthy. And they played much better this weekend without him than they did with him. They finally gave Derrick Henry the ball 20 plus times and let him run all over everybody. And I, you know, I think the Ravens could wear them down, the Steelers, as long as they don't get cute. So DK Metcalf, we didn't talk about that. That was that was such a bonehead thing to do. I mean, we were talking about Sirianni yelling at the crowd last week, the week before, and how he enact interacts with fans. Just ignore it. How how where are we now that an athlete today doesn't know to ignore the crowd? You have to be taught that. You have to be taught to just partially a guy like Metcalf. I mean, come on. Who's making millions and millions of dollars? And these talking heads on ESPN and all these other, well, you know, this guy said this, and this guy said that, turned out not to be true. Now that clown, and he is a clown, the guy comes out with a having a press conference dressed like a bum at a folding table. What was that? And they give him a they put a camera in front of this guy. That's a joke to me. Both guys are wrong. Neither one of them should have any platform for I don't care about either one of them. It's more egregious than that.

SPEAKER_02

You mean the guy in the guy in the stadium? The guy in the stadium. Should be thrown out. If he said something not appropriate, that he pissed him off, he should throw him out.

SPEAKER_00

Throw them out. Goodbye. We don't need people like you here. You know, the guy. Sounds like we're not going to sell a ticket. Come on. What got me was the discussion this week turned into who was right and who was wrong. Well, they're both wrong. I don't know what he said. There's no 60-40, 50-50. They're both wrong. 70-30, whatever. They're both wrong. The guy should be kicked out of the stadium and never let back in. And Metcalf deserves to be disciplined. Whether or not he deserved to lose, you know, all his money, whatever, I don't care. That's up for the team. That's that's a state's rights issue. They have to do what they see or feel is best.

SPEAKER_02

You've been reading too many books.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, right. If only. Well, you said, you know, the last time we talked about uh making less rules for the NFL to have control over. That's what I mean by states' rights. Let the team decide what happens.

SPEAKER_02

The reservation clause in the Constitution reserves everything not enumerated specifically to the federal government is left up to the states. Is left up to the states. So it has to be enumerated. So anyway, I think that's what we think. Well, you want to talk about Michigan? Want to talk about Michigan for a minute?

SPEAKER_00

Sure. Yeah. Um so a quick shout out to Coach Herman and uh prayers to his family. Both of his uh parents are in the hospital. So we're wishing them the very best. We would have had him on today, uh, but obviously family first. So we'll have him on another time to talk about uh the Michigan hire and Coach Whittingham coming from Utah, Kyle Whittingham. Interesting decision by Michigan. I know we alluded to, you know, the uh we alluded to the AD at Michigan kind of being on the hot seat and how that was gonna play out, whether or not he was gonna still be there to make the hire. Um I'm not a hundred percent sure yet if it was a conglomerate decision or if it was strictly his decision, because I don't know if he's gonna stay in Michigan um or if they're gonna retain him. But I think what happened here is you got a guy who's 66 years old, who's got 20 years in the tank as a head coach, Utah from the urban Meyer tree, if you will. This is a guy that. Is a defensive guy. He played football at BYU. He played for the Denver Broncos. He also played in the USFL. He later played for the Rams, I think. And he's been a coach for, you know, over 30 years. This is somebody who comes in knowing NIL and how that works and can handle turnover and can recruit and didn't have probably the tools that Michigan has in terms of recruiting. And he did mention, you know, in his press conference that this was his final challenge. Those were his words exactly. So I think what Michigan did was they brought in somebody to stabilize the franchise, so to speak, that is a football guy, is well respected. He's going to have coaches that are going to want to coach for him. You know, and he's he's he doesn't have kids in school. I'm sure his kids are all grown at this point.

SPEAKER_02

You know what I see though? I see them him coming in for the year. They spend the year really trying to find his successor. He coaches for a year, he becomes the AD at the end, and then and then they give the stability to the Michigan program.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I could see that happening. I don't, I mean, I don't know if he goes into the AD role, especially the way Michigan makes those decisions. I think it's more about, you know, keeping the players that are on the on the roster that are, you know, um scholarship players here, not looking in the in the portal to jump ship. Maybe he brings some players from Utah because they were 11 and 2 this year and they do have some talent there. So maybe some of those players come to Michigan. It opens a little bit of a pipeline for Michigan. But this guy's also, you know, he's got a degree in educational psychology and he knows how to talk to kids. He knows how to talk to the players, whereas sometimes you might give a a little bit of a uh, you know, not a disadvantage, but the communication level is not the same. This is somebody who can communicate with college age players and what he says will resonate with them. I mean, if you can get Utah to go 11 and 2, you should be able to get the players at Michigan to buy in and have some some continued success. And then of course it comes down to where's his quote-unquote final challenge. Is it national championship? Is it beat Ohio State? Because that does matter at Michigan, right? Beating Ohio State is paramount. Whereas Ohio State loves to say, well, we're here to win national championships. But don't tell me it doesn't mean anything when you lose to Michigan. It means everything. And even though the landscape has changed in college football, this is a guy who gets it. And I'm pretty sure will have, you know, national championship inspirations and will not take Ohio State for granted.

SPEAKER_01

I agree with you 100%.

SPEAKER_00

Interestingly enough, he's gonna face Ryan Day, who coached under Urban Meyer. He also, Whittingham being in the Urban Meyer tree, it'll be funny to see how how that plays out if their relationship plays into any sort of advice or discussions.

SPEAKER_03

What do you think?

SPEAKER_02

Um at this point of the season, do you have any thoughts about um the college playoff situation?

Final Week Stakes And What We’ll Learn

SPEAKER_00

I don't like the playoff. It has completely ruined college football tradition, what was left of it anyway. I didn't like it when it was the BCS, although the BCS seemed to get things right by what I call by accident, and it paired the two best teams via an eyeball test every year. But that just was one facet that made it less bearable for people, and then it made it that made people want the playoff. So that the traditional bowl games, the four major bowls are not what they were. Um I know you don't like all the other bowl games. To me, more football is great, but the playoff, I don't need to see two lost teams in a playoff. I don't care who they are, what conference they play in. If you have two losses, you are not a college football playoff team. Go play in a bowl game, collect your money, and get and get out of here. I don't need to see 16 teams so that we can have a three-loss Notre Dame team in there next year. I don't need to see it. That's what this is all about. This is about Notre Dame. This is about them missing. They didn't when they got in, when they had Manti Taylor, they got whacked by Alabama. Okay. They don't play in a conference, they refuse to join a conference, they don't play anybody except maybe two games all year against a ranked opponent. And I don't care where they're not playing number one teams. They're not playing a grueling schedule like you do in the Big Ten or the SEC. They're not playing good teams week in and week out. They play Navy, they play Army. Who else do they play? BYU or Air Force. Come on. I mean, respective traditional matchup, it's really 100 years ago when it meant something, then play in that league. Go start a league with the traditional schools from and call it the Americana Conference. And you can have all your pageantry and everything else and tradition that that you want at Notre Dame. Go for it. And your elite status is a number one academic school, the two don't jive. You can't be a great football program and have Brown University academics. It's not gonna work. It's this simple.

SPEAKER_02

You want to be part of the playoff picture at the end of the year? Join a conference. You have to be a member of a conference. If you're not, you're not eligible. I agree. We don't care where you go, what you do, you know, go to the Big East or whatever the heck they call it. You know, we go to anywhere you want, but you gotta be somewhere.

SPEAKER_00

They'll never do it. I know it. They're never gonna do it. They're just gonna cry because they don't want to share the money from their own. They don't want to share anything. And and I don't, and I'm not saying they have to. I don't I don't think they have to. Go make your money. By all means. I don't begrudge anybody their money. But in life, go take the TV money, go get it.

SPEAKER_02

In life, you can't have it both ways. No, you can't.

SPEAKER_00

And it's not gonna last that long at Notre Dame because that generation of people that wants to watch Notre Dame, they're not they're not gonna be alive much longer. Anybody under 40, 30 years old, they don't want to watch Notre Dame. They don't. It's guys like us who either love them or hate them. And I've never liked them. And I I know their tradition is rich in history, especially American history. I get that. It's it's a rivalry thing for me. It's different. But they haven't, you know, they thought they were better than everybody else then, and they went for the money, and that's what hurt them. And they're paying the price for that now. You don't deserve to be in the playoff. Period. I don't care that you won 10 games in a row. You didn't play anybody. As far as the playoff itself goes, you know, I always thought it was cool to watch bowl games. I, you know, you see some obscure schools that you would never see otherwise, and you get to see some of the, you know, other premier talent in these, in these other, you know, secondary conferences or whatever you want to call them, however you want to bill it. You know, when you watch teams like SMU or Fresno State or Bowling Green, right? Like those were always fun bowl games to watch because they frigging threw the ball all over the place or they had a tremendous running back that could run, you know, like the wind. They were fun games to watch, you know. But the playoff, it it kind of deadens it for me because I don't need to, I just I need to see Indiana and Georgia. That's all I want to see. I don't need to see Ohio State in the second chance. Oh, we're, you know, that game didn't matter. So so all these champion college uh conference championship games, they don't matter now? Then why play them? It's bizarre. It makes no sense. And you know what? We say it all the time. The bottom line, it's only about money. It's not about crowning a champion fairly, it's about how much money they can make. Can we make money with a 14 playoff? You goddamn right we can. Okay. Can we make even more money with eight teams? Sure. Maybe we can go to 12. Maybe we don't have to go to 16. We can if we go to 12, we can sneak two lost Notre Dame in into the playoffs somewhere. Well, that backfired, so now we'll go to 16. Well, and they're guaranteed a spot. Which is ridiculous. So I I don't like it. It's it's it's really just about money and making money. And you know, I can't blame the players for going and doing what they can do to make money with the NIL and the portal and transferring and not having Legion Sioux school. I don't blame them. That's just where this headed. Take care of yourself, take care of your family. But as far as the college football landscape goes, this playoff is is kind of, you know, I haven't even fought I've been following it. It's just boring to me. Right. All right, well, and then you know I didn't even know if it was over or not. I didn't know it's it's far from over. I don't even know when it ends. I don't even know who's left. But I'll tell you this. Alabama beat Oklahoma, right? It was a huge bowl game. Come from behind wind. I'm getting taxed. Oh, you hate the playoff. This is an awesome game. I don't know. Is it an awesome game? Alabama beat Oklahoma. What was Oklahoma? Oklahoma wasn't great. Alabama beat Georgia, then lost the championship game, but they still made the playoff. So maybe I need to see Indiana versus Alabama. Either way, decide who your best team is, however you want, and then we'll play each other. But I don't need Alabama, I don't need to see Indiana beat two or three lesser teams in a playoff just to get to Alabama or Georgia. I don't need to see it. I want to see Indiana, Georgia in the Rose Bowl, the Cotton Bowl, the Gator Bowl, the Rose Bowl, whatever. Sugar bowl, pick a bowl. You know, any place, anytime. But that all that tradition, it's all gone. It's all it's all gone now. Those those games meant something back then. Even the lesser bowls, to an extent, meant something. Now you get Penn State Clemson in the in the pinstripe ball at Yankee Stadium. It's right down the street. I don't even want to go see it.

SPEAKER_01

I I went to some game, uh, I don't know what it was. It was some religious school game, it was uh it's the only one I've been to. It was I can't remember. I want to say it was like Fordham and and Holy Cross or something like that. So Jesuits against the Jesuits or whatever they are.

Closing Thoughts And A Family Shout-Out

SPEAKER_02

So anyway, I think we covered it for the week. Everybody's looking forward to next week, like we are. We'll talk about the games, we'll know about the playoff picture, how we wish Jim's family the best. We'll all be praying, and everybody out there pray for him and his family, and we've all been there. And if we haven't been there yet, you will. So thanks very much. Unless you have anything else, Justin.

SPEAKER_00

No, I'll I'll save the Jets rant for next week.

SPEAKER_02

Well, you mean when we're gonna know what their draft pick is?

SPEAKER_00

I'll let them cover the body and bury it before we before I go there. All right. Now let me find our little go away thing here.

SPEAKER_01

Here it is.

SPEAKER_00

Thanks, everybody.

SPEAKER_01

All right, thanks everybody. See you later.

SPEAKER_00

Thanks, Steve.