January 22, 2024 • 23 mins
John reacts to the Chiefs once again taking down the Bills and despite Josh Allen looking like the best player on the field they can't get over the hump and beat KC in the playoffs, and will the Chiefs magic continue next week when they take on the Ravens. Also, will Brock Purdy and the 49ers show up against the Lions and if not, can they win another ugly game.
4:33 - Bills can't get over the hump
19:32 - 49ers are winning ugly
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terms and responsible gaming resources what is going on everybody?
(01:32):
John Middlecock three and Out podcast, How are we doing?
That's me, that's the show. Obviously. I went on with
Coward for about an hour, as I do every Sunday,
and then I realized I saw some more stuff to
get off my chest. I was just I was still
thinking about it, kind of pacing around the house. I'm like,
why don't I just feel like twenty minutes on a
couple quick thoughts, dive in a little bit more to
(01:52):
what we just witness Bill's Chiefs because I feel free
Bills fans. I really do that one. That one stinks,
That really stinks. We will also touch on the Niners
and the Lions conference champ We only got three games left,
so we got to enjoy football while we have it.
But I wanted to get up a little something here
on this Sunday night, and then we'll be full steam
(02:12):
ahead all week, a lot of football content non stop
right leading into these conference championship games, obviously super Bowl
a couple weeks. If you listen on Collins Feed, make
sure you subscribe to three and Out. Appreciate everyone that
has the YouTube channel. John middlecof three and Out all
of our content is on video, so go check that
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dot Com. We got merch, I got three and out hats,
(02:35):
so go get yourself one. But first, at my friends
at game Time download the game Time app. They are
the official ticketing app of this podcast. Game Time downloaded concerts,
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twenty dollars off. I was just thinking after I got
done with Colin about the bills and when I was
I'm born and raised in Davis, California. It's right by Sacramento,
and most of my life growing up, I mean there
(03:17):
was only one obviously, the Niners and the Giants were
hour away, but the Kings, where the Sacramento Kings played,
was probably less than fifteen minutes from my house, and
they were shitty most of my life. And then at
the end, basically when I was in junior high entering
high school, they got really good and they got really good.
You thought they were the best team in the league,
(03:38):
and then they had the crazy stuff happen in the
conference finals to the Lakers and they lost. And something
that's still in that area has talked about all the time,
and those guys Vladi Divac, Bobby Jackson, Paijestuyakovic, they're just
huge members of the community, the way they're talked about,
the way they're thought of, But they're just always known
(03:59):
as like not being able to get it the team
that came so close. We had him on the ropes,
but we just couldn't get it done. But there is
like something that unites people that all root for the
same team that when you can't get over the hump,
but you were good, it's one thing when you just suck,
everyone's just negative. But when you go, god, we were
just as good. God we should have beat them, Like
(04:21):
were we better? It's something you never get over, honestly,
you never do. And you know, I see it now
with this forty nine er team going back to Harbaugh
and now with Kyle, like are they ever gonna win
a Super Bowl? Like they're getting there a lot, they're
getting in the mix a lot, but are they ever
gonna win it. And then there are the teams like
that Laker team with Kobe and Shack, when every time
(04:43):
that they laced them up, and every series they played
in the playoffs, even the ones they lost, they never
believed they were gonna lose. Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes
never play a football game where they think they're gonna lose.
Why would they. They fucking win them all, especially in
the playoffs. They're proven they can go on the rope.
And you saw tonight the Buffalo Bills who took the
(05:06):
lead multiple times, and even when they got down late
with like five minutes left, and these driving them down
the field, making big third downs, and you're like, do
we have the best player on the field. This guy's
playing remarkably, Like, it doesn't get any better than Joshua.
We wouldn't trade our guy for anyone else. That wasn't true,
you know, the Kinks, Actually, Kobe and Shack were better
anyone the Sacramento Kings have. But the Niners are a
(05:26):
good example. Like, obviously we take some other quarterbacks, I'll
promise you that. But if you're a Bills fan, you're like,
this is just a remarkable environment. It doesn't get any
better in this We have the champs on the ropes. They're,
you know, our rival, and we talked about it last
week that we can't beat when it matters, but we're
finally gonna beat them. Our quarterback's gonna lead us down
the field and score a touchdown. And then you forced
(05:49):
to kick a field goal. You're like, okay, well's kick
this field goal. We'll get a stop, we'll find a
way to win. This is our year. And then the
dude misses the field goal and it's just one of
those things where you leave the stadium and I've left
stadiums in all sports after devastating losses for teams that
I've rooted for, where you just kind of look around
you go, is this ever gonna happen? Are we just
(06:09):
destined to never win? Are we destined to never beat
this team? And listen, you would always rather be relevant
and good and important and have Josh Allen and be
winning this division for four straight years than not being
in these games, Like it's better to have loved and
lost than never loved at all, or whatever. But that sucks.
(06:32):
I mean, there's nothing I can say. It's weird, right,
I know, the head coach the GM. I literally could
text them and Andy text back. I don't know about Veach,
but like I should in theory be rooting for the Chiefs.
I have other close friends that work for that organization.
My mom loves the Chiefs. She never stops texting me
about them, because Coach Reid had me over for Thanksgiving
(06:54):
ten plus years ago. She loves them. She's a diehard
Chiefs fan in her mid seventies and Davis right now.
No one watches and talks about the Chiefs more than
my mother. But I found myself gravitating and rooting. I
know Sean McDermott too, but for Josh Allen and the
franchise and the fans, like it feels like they deserve this,
like they deserve this win. And when that guy missed
(07:17):
the field goal, your heart just sinks, but in a
weird way, like that's why we watch sports. It doesn't
get any better than that game. Like that game, in
my opinion, is as good as it gets. They score
going into halftime, then the Chiefs come out and score,
then the Bills score. That felt like, listen, I throw
(07:39):
this analogy out. It's not like I ever saw this
fight besides like YouTube and the Will Smith movie, but
like Olie Frasier, like the Thriller, it just doesn't get
any bigger or better than this. I'd be like if
Mike Tyson would have fought Muhammad al Lead. That's what
it felt like watching that game. These two quarterbacks that
are just I was born in the mid eighties, so
(07:59):
I can't claim to and I always believe this. As
a sports fan, I feel very comfortable arguing for people
that I watched. Like if you want to argue with
me about Peyton Manning or Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady
or Lebron James or you know, you name it, players
that I have grown up watching, even back to the nineties,
Brett Favvr, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, I feel very confident arguing.
(08:22):
But if you go back and argue with me about
guys that I didn't watch, you know, after like fifteen
years old, like, it's gonna be impossible to have a
fair argument. Right. So, when I was growing up, you
just heard so much about Montana, Marino and Elway, and
obviously those guys played a huge role in the expansion
of the NFL, and Montana was winning all the time
(08:43):
Dan Marino got to one Super Bowl, never went back
and up until Mike Shanahan and Terrell Davis showed up.
Elway was going to Super Bowls and losing. But it's
one thing to make it there and lose. It's another
thing to struggle to get to the conference championship game.
It's like, how how do we have this guy who's
doing this? Our team is playing well, We're at home
against a team that's clearly not as good as they
(09:06):
once were, and we still can't beat them. Like that's something.
The thirteen second game is something like the Robert Rory
tip out shot from Vladi hit. You never forget that's
something ingrained in your memory as a sports fan, whether
you're not even rooting for one of these teams for
the rest of your life. If you're a Bills fan,
that scar is something you carry with you forever. But
you hold it in these big moments and you almost
(09:27):
kind of cross your mind, like is this the year
that we shake that? And the problem is when you
face these championship level people that have won countless championships,
whether it's mj or Patrick Mahomes or Tom Brady or
Tiger Woods, and you get them up against the ropes.
They're not gonna flinch. They're not going to fade. Now,
(09:48):
they might lose, you might beat them, but you gotta
knock them out. You have to knock them out. They're
not gonna tap out. It's not gonna happen. And the
Bills had their moment multiple times and they couldn't do it.
But listen, we can justify it all we want. There
were enough plays to be made for them to win
(10:08):
that game and they just didn't. But you get to
the point where you go, well, we can't beat them
in Kansas City, we can't beat them in Buffalo. And
this is what I said. To have a rivalry, like forever,
I always a heart Red Sox Yankees, Red Sox Yankees.
Well up until four, the Yankees owned them. There was
a rivalry based on they were in the same division
and they played each other a lot. But the Yankees
(10:30):
are doing all the winning. The Red Sox never were,
right and then once the Red Sox beat them in four,
that rivalry got amped up tenfold, like in a weird way.
This is what I mean, Like if the Chiefs and
Niners were in the Super Bowl. For me personally and
or professionally and personally, that's by far the best situation
for me. Right Yet, I found myself honestly really rooting
(10:54):
for the Bills. They're in the fourth quarter, just because,
like as a at my core before I knew anyone
and any of these professional leagues, before I ever thought
I would be able to do this for a living,
I'm just a die hard sports guy and the stories
and you root for certain people, and I just found
myself pulling for Josh Allen like I just want to
and those fans and how fucking much they care, how
(11:16):
much they deep down love that football team, and they
just couldn't win the game, and I feel for you
Bills fans, and I think, listen, man, the Chiefs there
is and I saw this about a decade ago with
some of the Bochee San Fransco Giants teams. Championship blood
is a real thing, and I think the Chiefs just
(11:38):
have it in spades, and me and Colin talked about it,
and I think next week, you know, the Chiefs are
going to be the underdog. And listen, I think the
Ravens are fucking good. I mean they are really really good.
I'm amped up. I've dropped a couple of bumps. I
know some of you guys have little kids in the
car ear muffs, but I just have a hard time
and listen to me. The Ravens should win the Super Bowl,
(12:00):
right if you just based on talent momentum coaching the Ravens.
But when you got Andy, when you got Patrick Mahomes,
and you just got that blood inside the locker room,
when every single human being, especially all the guys now
they're young defensive players, they've all been in these moments.
They never don't believe it's gonna happen. It doesn't mean
(12:20):
it's always gonna happen. But in these key spots in
these games, when they're down a field goal, when they're
down four points in the fourth quarter, it's like they
ain't gonna freak. They'll just stick to their fundamentals. They'll
stick to the play call, they will make the play,
they will be in positions to make the plays. You're
gonna have to beat them. And it's the best part
about the highest level of sports, like the true true champions,
(12:42):
It's like they just get to this level where it's
like we're on the top of the mountaintop and we
don't want to leave. We do not want to budge.
We want no part of climbing back down this mountain.
We like it up here. We like this spot and
you're gonna feel it this week right for half of football.
As someone that had money on the Ravens at minus
nine and a half, you felt like a tenseness with
(13:04):
the Ravens, and even Lamar admitted it. They cussed out
each other at halftime. Then they loosen up and it
was a route and they showed their talent all over
the field and they kicked the crap out of the
Texans twenty four to nothing in the second half, and
it wasn't even It felt more like fifty to nothing.
That they destroyed them. That there is just something that
the Chiefs have that left like the Niners don't have it,
(13:24):
Like they've never won a Super Bowl. The Lions, you
could say, are playing with little house money. But once
you get to this spot, like you're not, you probably think,
like we can win the super Bowl. But they don't
know they can win the Super Bowl. There is one
group of men that all look when they show up
for film study getting ready for the championship game this
week to go we're the champs, that we plan on
being the champs again. Now doesn't mean they're gonna win it,
(13:46):
but there is something to the Chiefs and this, and
the Patriots had this forever with Belichick and Brady and
Andy and Mahomes have this. That's why a lot of
people go, did you see the rumors with Andy Reid?
I've said over and over, and I said this yesterday,
and I've said this I think in the DMS for
anyone asking, I do not believe he's going to retire
if there's nothing health related and everything's okay with his family,
(14:09):
Like I would be stunned, because you don't retire when
you have this built. Andy doesn't play golf like Belichick.
Their lives are football because they've mastered the craft of coaching, leadership,
of building the culture. And when you have Mahomes in
the peak of his powers, like let's face it, you know,
(14:29):
as they transition through Chyrie Hill and then Kelsey and
maybe Chris Jones, as long as you got that guy
and the culture with your coaching staff and the quarterback
kind of breeding it down through Like listen, I think
Josh Allen is one of the most remarkable athletes and
players in any sport I've ever seen, truly believe that
the way when I was growing up, people talked about
(14:51):
Marino in elway, just the talents, that's what he feels like,
the combination of it all. But there's something missing in
his organization, right. And I don't even blame him, like,
I don't even think he could do that much more.
He's literally laying it all on the ground. But I'd
say his organizations letting him down a little bit. Like
I told Colin, they went all in for von Miller.
It's one of them all time disastrous moves when you're
(15:11):
a player or two away. When you're a player two
away and you sign a guy to a huge deal
and that guy immediately tears acl and then becomes really old.
It fails, and it screws you because you have so
much cap space and so much capital invested into one guy.
And I guess this is a long winded way of
saying like I'm fired up, you know for the chiefs,
(15:32):
Like it's cool to watch greatness. I say it all
the time, like I come to sports, like my favorite
two athletes of all time easily are Michael Jordan and
Tiger Woods, right, So what the Chiefs and Andy and
Mahomes are doing is is incredible, is absolutely incredible. But
there's like this weird you know, sports let down travesty.
(15:56):
I don't even know the right way to describe it.
With the bills that kind of makes you feel bad
unless you're in the division you like hate the bills
if you're someone like me, kind of indifferent. And I
naturally root from guys of places I know, and I'm
a northern California guy, and my dad was a farmer,
and I spent some time in Fresno State and Fresno
lived there for a couple of years. So the valley, Like,
if you're from the valley, you're from northern California, I'm
(16:18):
gonna root for you. If you're from southern California, you know,
if I know you, didn't like you, maybe, But if
you're from the valley in California or northern California, I'm
gonna root for you. I'm gonna root for Jared Yoff
throughout his career. I'm gonna root for Josh Allen from Fireball,
and that sucks. So I guess this is a long
winded way of saying I feel for your Bills fans.
I've been there. We all have as sports fans. Even
(16:40):
Patriot fans, I guess a time or two have been there.
But they usually lost those games in the championship. It
sucks losing in the second round and start questioning like,
are we ever gonna make to the Super Bowl? Are
we ever going to go back to that place again?
Is it ever gonna happen? Because I think it's very
fair to start questioning that. So we'll dive into the
Chiefs Ravens matchup coming up. That's a fantastic game. The
(17:01):
other game is really good too, and I think all
the pressure, like I said last week on the podcast,
was all on Purty and Kyle Shanahan, and I put
it on Perty first because you know, his contract is
not much money. He was a seventh round pick. That
game yesterday was and I talked about it on the
pod yesterday was was pretty ugly. Now, Luckily in the
(17:23):
division he plays in, in the place he lives, he
doesn't have to play in inclement weather, but he's proven
he can't play in the right period, point blank, end
of story. And there is just a weirdness sometimes with
Kyle Listen every coach has a bad game, like that's
Andy Reid has bad games. Belichick has had bad games
like welcome to football, We welcome to life. Right, I
don't care how sick bezos. Not every deal he's ever
(17:44):
made worked, right. I mean Steve Jobs now he got
fired from Apple once upon a time. Like sometimes like
things don't go your way. But there's something with Kyle
where there's a tightness in some of these moments when
things aren't going well that just kind of that can
pop their head up and listen, this is not I
think Kyle's a stud. I think he's an unreal coach.
(18:06):
The Niners couldn't dream of doing better. Andy Reid ain't available.
But it just makes you a little nervous. And I
think the Lions, you know, in the Bills Chiefs game
is a good example. Everyone had a lot of the line, right.
The Bills have a ton of the line. The Chiefs
have a ton on the line just because you got
Andy and Mahomes. It's all about every single season and
(18:27):
the Bills you gotta get over the hump. The Ravens
have a ton of the line. This is the playoffs.
But the Lions. Someone sent me this my cousin Kenny,
who former Fresno State Bulldog long snapper back in the day,
sent me this the last team. The things that didn't
exist when the Detroit Lions last played in the NFC
Championship game. I'm not gonna list them all, but I'll
(18:49):
just list a couple. Amazon, Facebook, Gmail, Google, the iPhone,
the iPod, Internet Explore, Netflix, PlayStation Tesla, obviously, text messages, Uber, Wikipedia, Xbox.
I mean, some of those are a little newer, but
(19:11):
Internet Explore, Internet Explore Amazon. It feels like Amazon's been
around for twenty plus years. Honestly, it's been around longer
and that obviously there have been different iterations, but I mean,
you're talking about a franchise, and this is why I
give you more credit. If Antonio Pierce goes to the
Raiders and is successful in like two straight years, I'm
(19:32):
not even saying next year. I'm just saying, like has
a stretch where he wins like ten games ten games,
goes to the playoffs couple times. That is an incredible
accomplishment because, like Kevin Stefanski winning in Cleveland for Jimmy
Haslam should not happen. It's you're not supposed to win there, right, Detroit,
You're not supposed to win with the Detroit Lions. That
(19:53):
team sucks always and now to be in the NFC
Championship game and kind of rightfully so what an incredible job?
Like the forty nine ers get a lot of credit
well deserved for building a really good team, drafting players,
finding different ways to get quarterbacks, trading for guys, being
a place that guys want to be, like having a
really good culture. I think the Lions deserve very similar
(20:17):
credit what they've done in a short period of time,
the trade, for GoF using those picks to get Gibbs
Laporta Branch, Campbell, you know, signing Montgomery their offensive line.
How well Goff is anyone in their late you know, twenties,
early thirties you still question. I don't care what profession
you do, how good you are, unless you're just an
(20:39):
egotistical maniac and got fa confidence. You need people you're
either working with, playing for, working for to believe in
you and to instill confidence in you. And the Lions
and Dan Campbell and Ben Johnson what they have done
to Jared Goff in terms of the confidence, the uplifting
(21:01):
and turning him into a high end starter. Has been
pretty eye opening and been pretty awesome to watch. And
like I said, I'm naturally gonna root for the guy
because of where he's from, but he has been really
good and he's an easy got to root for, easygoing,
nice guy. No one ever has anything bad to say
about him as a person. Just seems like a salt
(21:22):
of the earth, easy going dude who can sling the
football a little bit, can't run a lick, doesn't matter.
He throws some dimes and the Lions deserve a lot
of credit. And listen, in theory, it should be Raven's
forty nine ers, right, those two teams should win, just
like last week it was like the two one seeds
hosting the game. I wouldn't I haven't even thought about
(21:45):
gambling this week who I'm gonna take. But obviously the
Niners make me really nervous, and I get very nervous
betting against Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes. So initial would
be like, I think all four of these teams can
win these games. And that's what makes a great conference
championship is when you got a lot on the line.
All these teams can win a championship. They all. You know,
(22:06):
I would say the Ravens are probably the least flawed team.
This Chiefs team is probably the worst iteration of the
of the of the era of the Dynasty, quote unquote.
You know, the forty nine ers are kind of leaking
some oil and the Lions DB's can't cover me or you,
But holy moly, they could score. They can rush the passer,
They have a physicality to them. They can control the
(22:26):
clock because they can run the ball. They have a
true identity. Both their coordinators are just fantastic, and it
just it just has a chance to be a really
really cool conference championship weekend. Get some new blood in
there with Detroit, which is just a It's sometimes like
when you get the little engine that could and when
you get like a story that really resonates with people.
This franchise has been so bad for so long, and
(22:49):
now they're like really good, and you know people are
going to naturally kind of root from they. You know,
it's different than Buffalo, but it's the same type feel
where it's like kind of root for these people. You know,
I just I'm kind of rooting for these people. Now.
I want the Niners to win, but I don't feel
great about it. That's my first reaction was, like, I'm
pretty nervous. I definitely think Detroit can win this game.
(23:11):
I mean, they're built, good offensive line, they can stop
the run. I think the forty nine ers right now
have some questions that they got to answer these next
couple of days. Take any breath, figure out why the
quarterback can't grip the ball if there's a little water
on it, and figure some things out. But we only
got three games left. I'm already. I always get emotional
thinking that football is gonna end, Like what the hell
(23:32):
am I gonna watch? Desperate Housewives? Are that stupid? Like
Southern Housewives show that my girlfriend had on the other day,
I don't think so. So I'm gonna I'm gonna really
enjoy these last three games like all of us will,
and we'll talk about them all week. The volume
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(00:22):
Download the Draftking Sportsbook now and use code John. New
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hn John. The Crown is yours. Gambling problem called one
in hundred gambler or visit www dot one in hundred
gambler dot net. In New York, call eight seven seven
(00:45):
hope and why, or text hope and why four six
seven three sixty nine. In Connecticut, help is available for
problem gambling. Call eighty eight seven eight nine seven seven
seven or visit CCPG dot org. Please player small possibly
on behalf of Boothill Casino and resort in Kansas twenty
one plus age varies by jurisdiction, Void and Ontario. Bonus
(01:08):
bets expire one hundred and sixty eight hours after issuance.
See dkg dot com slash football for eligibility and deposit restrictions,
terms and responsible gaming resources what is going on everybody?
(01:32):
John Middlecock three and Out podcast, How are we doing?
That's me, that's the show. Obviously. I went on with
Coward for about an hour, as I do every Sunday,
and then I realized I saw some more stuff to
get off my chest. I was just I was still
thinking about it, kind of pacing around the house. I'm like,
why don't I just feel like twenty minutes on a
couple quick thoughts, dive in a little bit more to
(01:52):
what we just witness Bill's Chiefs because I feel free
Bills fans. I really do that one. That one stinks,
That really stinks. We will also touch on the Niners
and the Lions conference champ We only got three games left,
so we got to enjoy football while we have it.
But I wanted to get up a little something here
on this Sunday night, and then we'll be full steam
(02:12):
ahead all week, a lot of football content non stop
right leading into these conference championship games, obviously super Bowl
a couple weeks. If you listen on Collins Feed, make
sure you subscribe to three and Out. Appreciate everyone that
has the YouTube channel. John middlecof three and Out all
of our content is on video, so go check that
out as well. Hit that subscribe button and the volume
dot Com. We got merch, I got three and out hats,
(02:35):
so go get yourself one. But first, at my friends
at game Time download the game Time app. They are
the official ticketing app of this podcast. Game Time downloaded concerts,
comedy shows. My brother just went to a concert sat
front row. He's like, bro, I'm never going to a
concert again unless I'm sitting on the floor. I'm like, yeah,
(02:56):
that's why you download game Time promo code. John twenty
dollars off. Download the game Time at promo co John
twenty dollars off. I was just thinking after I got
done with Colin about the bills and when I was
I'm born and raised in Davis, California. It's right by Sacramento,
and most of my life growing up, I mean there
(03:17):
was only one obviously, the Niners and the Giants were
hour away, but the Kings, where the Sacramento Kings played,
was probably less than fifteen minutes from my house, and
they were shitty most of my life. And then at
the end, basically when I was in junior high entering
high school, they got really good and they got really good.
You thought they were the best team in the league,
(03:38):
and then they had the crazy stuff happen in the
conference finals to the Lakers and they lost. And something
that's still in that area has talked about all the time,
and those guys Vladi Divac, Bobby Jackson, Paijestuyakovic, they're just
huge members of the community, the way they're talked about,
the way they're thought of, But they're just always known
(03:59):
as like not being able to get it the team
that came so close. We had him on the ropes,
but we just couldn't get it done. But there is
like something that unites people that all root for the
same team that when you can't get over the hump,
but you were good, it's one thing when you just suck,
everyone's just negative. But when you go, god, we were
just as good. God we should have beat them, Like
(04:21):
were we better? It's something you never get over, honestly,
you never do. And you know, I see it now
with this forty nine er team going back to Harbaugh
and now with Kyle, like are they ever gonna win
a Super Bowl? Like they're getting there a lot, they're
getting in the mix a lot, but are they ever
gonna win it. And then there are the teams like
that Laker team with Kobe and Shack, when every time
(04:43):
that they laced them up, and every series they played
in the playoffs, even the ones they lost, they never
believed they were gonna lose. Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes
never play a football game where they think they're gonna lose.
Why would they. They fucking win them all, especially in
the playoffs. They're proven they can go on the rope.
And you saw tonight the Buffalo Bills who took the
(05:06):
lead multiple times, and even when they got down late
with like five minutes left, and these driving them down
the field, making big third downs, and you're like, do
we have the best player on the field. This guy's
playing remarkably, Like, it doesn't get any better than Joshua.
We wouldn't trade our guy for anyone else. That wasn't true,
you know, the Kinks, Actually, Kobe and Shack were better
anyone the Sacramento Kings have. But the Niners are a
(05:26):
good example. Like, obviously we take some other quarterbacks, I'll
promise you that. But if you're a Bills fan, you're like,
this is just a remarkable environment. It doesn't get any
better in this We have the champs on the ropes. They're,
you know, our rival, and we talked about it last
week that we can't beat when it matters, but we're
finally gonna beat them. Our quarterback's gonna lead us down
the field and score a touchdown. And then you forced
(05:49):
to kick a field goal. You're like, okay, well's kick
this field goal. We'll get a stop, we'll find a
way to win. This is our year. And then the
dude misses the field goal and it's just one of
those things where you leave the stadium and I've left
stadiums in all sports after devastating losses for teams that
I've rooted for, where you just kind of look around
you go, is this ever gonna happen? Are we just
(06:09):
destined to never win? Are we destined to never beat
this team? And listen, you would always rather be relevant
and good and important and have Josh Allen and be
winning this division for four straight years than not being
in these games, Like it's better to have loved and
lost than never loved at all, or whatever. But that sucks.
(06:32):
I mean, there's nothing I can say. It's weird, right,
I know, the head coach the GM. I literally could
text them and Andy text back. I don't know about Veach,
but like I should in theory be rooting for the Chiefs.
I have other close friends that work for that organization.
My mom loves the Chiefs. She never stops texting me
about them, because Coach Reid had me over for Thanksgiving
(06:54):
ten plus years ago. She loves them. She's a diehard
Chiefs fan in her mid seventies and Davis right now.
No one watches and talks about the Chiefs more than
my mother. But I found myself gravitating and rooting. I
know Sean McDermott too, but for Josh Allen and the
franchise and the fans, like it feels like they deserve this,
like they deserve this win. And when that guy missed
(07:17):
the field goal, your heart just sinks, but in a
weird way, like that's why we watch sports. It doesn't
get any better than that game. Like that game, in
my opinion, is as good as it gets. They score
going into halftime, then the Chiefs come out and score,
then the Bills score. That felt like, listen, I throw
(07:39):
this analogy out. It's not like I ever saw this
fight besides like YouTube and the Will Smith movie, but
like Olie Frasier, like the Thriller, it just doesn't get
any bigger or better than this. I'd be like if
Mike Tyson would have fought Muhammad al Lead. That's what
it felt like watching that game. These two quarterbacks that
are just I was born in the mid eighties, so
(07:59):
I can't claim to and I always believe this. As
a sports fan, I feel very comfortable arguing for people
that I watched. Like if you want to argue with
me about Peyton Manning or Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady
or Lebron James or you know, you name it, players
that I have grown up watching, even back to the nineties,
Brett Favvr, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, I feel very confident arguing.
(08:22):
But if you go back and argue with me about
guys that I didn't watch, you know, after like fifteen
years old, like, it's gonna be impossible to have a
fair argument. Right. So, when I was growing up, you
just heard so much about Montana, Marino and Elway, and
obviously those guys played a huge role in the expansion
of the NFL, and Montana was winning all the time
(08:43):
Dan Marino got to one Super Bowl, never went back
and up until Mike Shanahan and Terrell Davis showed up.
Elway was going to Super Bowls and losing. But it's
one thing to make it there and lose. It's another
thing to struggle to get to the conference championship game.
It's like, how how do we have this guy who's
doing this? Our team is playing well, We're at home
against a team that's clearly not as good as they
(09:06):
once were, and we still can't beat them. Like that's something.
The thirteen second game is something like the Robert Rory
tip out shot from Vladi hit. You never forget that's
something ingrained in your memory as a sports fan, whether
you're not even rooting for one of these teams for
the rest of your life. If you're a Bills fan,
that scar is something you carry with you forever. But
you hold it in these big moments and you almost
(09:27):
kind of cross your mind, like is this the year
that we shake that? And the problem is when you
face these championship level people that have won countless championships,
whether it's mj or Patrick Mahomes or Tom Brady or
Tiger Woods, and you get them up against the ropes.
They're not gonna flinch. They're not going to fade. Now,
(09:48):
they might lose, you might beat them, but you gotta
knock them out. You have to knock them out. They're
not gonna tap out. It's not gonna happen. And the
Bills had their moment multiple times and they couldn't do it.
But listen, we can justify it all we want. There
were enough plays to be made for them to win
(10:08):
that game and they just didn't. But you get to
the point where you go, well, we can't beat them
in Kansas City, we can't beat them in Buffalo. And
this is what I said. To have a rivalry, like forever,
I always a heart Red Sox Yankees, Red Sox Yankees.
Well up until four, the Yankees owned them. There was
a rivalry based on they were in the same division
and they played each other a lot. But the Yankees
(10:30):
are doing all the winning. The Red Sox never were,
right and then once the Red Sox beat them in four,
that rivalry got amped up tenfold, like in a weird way.
This is what I mean, Like if the Chiefs and
Niners were in the Super Bowl. For me personally and
or professionally and personally, that's by far the best situation
for me. Right Yet, I found myself honestly really rooting
(10:54):
for the Bills. They're in the fourth quarter, just because,
like as a at my core before I knew anyone
and any of these professional leagues, before I ever thought
I would be able to do this for a living,
I'm just a die hard sports guy and the stories
and you root for certain people, and I just found
myself pulling for Josh Allen like I just want to
and those fans and how fucking much they care, how
(11:16):
much they deep down love that football team, and they
just couldn't win the game, and I feel for you
Bills fans, and I think, listen, man, the Chiefs there
is and I saw this about a decade ago with
some of the Bochee San Fransco Giants teams. Championship blood
is a real thing, and I think the Chiefs just
(11:38):
have it in spades, and me and Colin talked about it,
and I think next week, you know, the Chiefs are
going to be the underdog. And listen, I think the
Ravens are fucking good. I mean they are really really good.
I'm amped up. I've dropped a couple of bumps. I
know some of you guys have little kids in the
car ear muffs, but I just have a hard time
and listen to me. The Ravens should win the Super Bowl,
(12:00):
right if you just based on talent momentum coaching the Ravens.
But when you got Andy, when you got Patrick Mahomes,
and you just got that blood inside the locker room,
when every single human being, especially all the guys now
they're young defensive players, they've all been in these moments.
They never don't believe it's gonna happen. It doesn't mean
(12:20):
it's always gonna happen. But in these key spots in
these games, when they're down a field goal, when they're
down four points in the fourth quarter, it's like they
ain't gonna freak. They'll just stick to their fundamentals. They'll
stick to the play call, they will make the play,
they will be in positions to make the plays. You're
gonna have to beat them. And it's the best part
about the highest level of sports, like the true true champions,
(12:42):
It's like they just get to this level where it's
like we're on the top of the mountaintop and we
don't want to leave. We do not want to budge.
We want no part of climbing back down this mountain.
We like it up here. We like this spot and
you're gonna feel it this week right for half of football.
As someone that had money on the Ravens at minus
nine and a half, you felt like a tenseness with
(13:04):
the Ravens, and even Lamar admitted it. They cussed out
each other at halftime. Then they loosen up and it
was a route and they showed their talent all over
the field and they kicked the crap out of the
Texans twenty four to nothing in the second half, and
it wasn't even It felt more like fifty to nothing.
That they destroyed them. That there is just something that
the Chiefs have that left like the Niners don't have it,
(13:24):
Like they've never won a Super Bowl. The Lions, you
could say, are playing with little house money. But once
you get to this spot, like you're not, you probably think,
like we can win the super Bowl. But they don't
know they can win the Super Bowl. There is one
group of men that all look when they show up
for film study getting ready for the championship game this
week to go we're the champs, that we plan on
being the champs again. Now doesn't mean they're gonna win it,
(13:46):
but there is something to the Chiefs and this, and
the Patriots had this forever with Belichick and Brady and
Andy and Mahomes have this. That's why a lot of
people go, did you see the rumors with Andy Reid?
I've said over and over, and I said this yesterday,
and I've said this I think in the DMS for
anyone asking, I do not believe he's going to retire
if there's nothing health related and everything's okay with his family,
(14:09):
Like I would be stunned, because you don't retire when
you have this built. Andy doesn't play golf like Belichick.
Their lives are football because they've mastered the craft of coaching, leadership,
of building the culture. And when you have Mahomes in
the peak of his powers, like let's face it, you know,
(14:29):
as they transition through Chyrie Hill and then Kelsey and
maybe Chris Jones, as long as you got that guy
and the culture with your coaching staff and the quarterback
kind of breeding it down through Like listen, I think
Josh Allen is one of the most remarkable athletes and
players in any sport I've ever seen, truly believe that
the way when I was growing up, people talked about
(14:51):
Marino in elway, just the talents, that's what he feels like,
the combination of it all. But there's something missing in
his organization, right. And I don't even blame him, like,
I don't even think he could do that much more.
He's literally laying it all on the ground. But I'd
say his organizations letting him down a little bit. Like
I told Colin, they went all in for von Miller.
It's one of them all time disastrous moves when you're
(15:11):
a player or two away. When you're a player two
away and you sign a guy to a huge deal
and that guy immediately tears acl and then becomes really old.
It fails, and it screws you because you have so
much cap space and so much capital invested into one guy.
And I guess this is a long winded way of
saying like I'm fired up, you know for the chiefs,
(15:32):
Like it's cool to watch greatness. I say it all
the time, like I come to sports, like my favorite
two athletes of all time easily are Michael Jordan and
Tiger Woods, right, So what the Chiefs and Andy and
Mahomes are doing is is incredible, is absolutely incredible. But
there's like this weird you know, sports let down travesty.
(15:56):
I don't even know the right way to describe it.
With the bills that kind of makes you feel bad
unless you're in the division you like hate the bills
if you're someone like me, kind of indifferent. And I
naturally root from guys of places I know, and I'm
a northern California guy, and my dad was a farmer,
and I spent some time in Fresno State and Fresno
lived there for a couple of years. So the valley, Like,
if you're from the valley, you're from northern California, I'm
(16:18):
gonna root for you. If you're from southern California, you know,
if I know you, didn't like you, maybe, But if
you're from the valley in California or northern California, I'm
gonna root for you. I'm gonna root for Jared Yoff
throughout his career. I'm gonna root for Josh Allen from Fireball,
and that sucks. So I guess this is a long
winded way of saying I feel for your Bills fans.
I've been there. We all have as sports fans. Even
(16:40):
Patriot fans, I guess a time or two have been there.
But they usually lost those games in the championship. It
sucks losing in the second round and start questioning like,
are we ever gonna make to the Super Bowl? Are
we ever going to go back to that place again?
Is it ever gonna happen? Because I think it's very
fair to start questioning that. So we'll dive into the
Chiefs Ravens matchup coming up. That's a fantastic game. The
(17:01):
other game is really good too, and I think all
the pressure, like I said last week on the podcast,
was all on Purty and Kyle Shanahan, and I put
it on Perty first because you know, his contract is
not much money. He was a seventh round pick. That
game yesterday was and I talked about it on the
pod yesterday was was pretty ugly. Now, Luckily in the
(17:23):
division he plays in, in the place he lives, he
doesn't have to play in inclement weather, but he's proven
he can't play in the right period, point blank, end
of story. And there is just a weirdness sometimes with
Kyle Listen every coach has a bad game, like that's
Andy Reid has bad games. Belichick has had bad games
like welcome to football, We welcome to life. Right, I
don't care how sick bezos. Not every deal he's ever
(17:44):
made worked, right. I mean Steve Jobs now he got
fired from Apple once upon a time. Like sometimes like
things don't go your way. But there's something with Kyle
where there's a tightness in some of these moments when
things aren't going well that just kind of that can
pop their head up and listen, this is not I
think Kyle's a stud. I think he's an unreal coach.
(18:06):
The Niners couldn't dream of doing better. Andy Reid ain't available.
But it just makes you a little nervous. And I
think the Lions, you know, in the Bills Chiefs game
is a good example. Everyone had a lot of the line, right.
The Bills have a ton of the line. The Chiefs
have a ton on the line just because you got
Andy and Mahomes. It's all about every single season and
(18:27):
the Bills you gotta get over the hump. The Ravens
have a ton of the line. This is the playoffs.
But the Lions. Someone sent me this my cousin Kenny,
who former Fresno State Bulldog long snapper back in the day,
sent me this the last team. The things that didn't
exist when the Detroit Lions last played in the NFC
Championship game. I'm not gonna list them all, but I'll
(18:49):
just list a couple. Amazon, Facebook, Gmail, Google, the iPhone,
the iPod, Internet Explore, Netflix, PlayStation Tesla, obviously, text messages, Uber, Wikipedia, Xbox.
I mean, some of those are a little newer, but
(19:11):
Internet Explore, Internet Explore Amazon. It feels like Amazon's been
around for twenty plus years. Honestly, it's been around longer
and that obviously there have been different iterations, but I mean,
you're talking about a franchise, and this is why I
give you more credit. If Antonio Pierce goes to the
Raiders and is successful in like two straight years, I'm
(19:32):
not even saying next year. I'm just saying, like has
a stretch where he wins like ten games ten games,
goes to the playoffs couple times. That is an incredible
accomplishment because, like Kevin Stefanski winning in Cleveland for Jimmy
Haslam should not happen. It's you're not supposed to win there, right, Detroit,
You're not supposed to win with the Detroit Lions. That
(19:53):
team sucks always and now to be in the NFC
Championship game and kind of rightfully so what an incredible job?
Like the forty nine ers get a lot of credit
well deserved for building a really good team, drafting players,
finding different ways to get quarterbacks, trading for guys, being
a place that guys want to be, like having a
really good culture. I think the Lions deserve very similar
(20:17):
credit what they've done in a short period of time,
the trade, for GoF using those picks to get Gibbs
Laporta Branch, Campbell, you know, signing Montgomery their offensive line.
How well Goff is anyone in their late you know, twenties,
early thirties you still question. I don't care what profession
you do, how good you are, unless you're just an
(20:39):
egotistical maniac and got fa confidence. You need people you're
either working with, playing for, working for to believe in
you and to instill confidence in you. And the Lions
and Dan Campbell and Ben Johnson what they have done
to Jared Goff in terms of the confidence, the uplifting
(21:01):
and turning him into a high end starter. Has been
pretty eye opening and been pretty awesome to watch. And
like I said, I'm naturally gonna root for the guy
because of where he's from, but he has been really
good and he's an easy got to root for, easygoing,
nice guy. No one ever has anything bad to say
about him as a person. Just seems like a salt
(21:22):
of the earth, easy going dude who can sling the
football a little bit, can't run a lick, doesn't matter.
He throws some dimes and the Lions deserve a lot
of credit. And listen, in theory, it should be Raven's
forty nine ers, right, those two teams should win, just
like last week it was like the two one seeds
hosting the game. I wouldn't I haven't even thought about
(21:45):
gambling this week who I'm gonna take. But obviously the
Niners make me really nervous, and I get very nervous
betting against Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes. So initial would
be like, I think all four of these teams can
win these games. And that's what makes a great conference
championship is when you got a lot on the line.
All these teams can win a championship. They all. You know,
(22:06):
I would say the Ravens are probably the least flawed team.
This Chiefs team is probably the worst iteration of the
of the of the era of the Dynasty, quote unquote.
You know, the forty nine ers are kind of leaking
some oil and the Lions DB's can't cover me or you,
But holy moly, they could score. They can rush the passer,
They have a physicality to them. They can control the
(22:26):
clock because they can run the ball. They have a
true identity. Both their coordinators are just fantastic, and it
just it just has a chance to be a really
really cool conference championship weekend. Get some new blood in
there with Detroit, which is just a It's sometimes like
when you get the little engine that could and when
you get like a story that really resonates with people.
This franchise has been so bad for so long, and
(22:49):
now they're like really good, and you know people are
going to naturally kind of root from they. You know,
it's different than Buffalo, but it's the same type feel
where it's like kind of root for these people. You know,
I just I'm kind of rooting for these people. Now.
I want the Niners to win, but I don't feel
great about it. That's my first reaction was, like, I'm
pretty nervous. I definitely think Detroit can win this game.
(23:11):
I mean, they're built, good offensive line, they can stop
the run. I think the forty nine ers right now
have some questions that they got to answer these next
couple of days. Take any breath, figure out why the
quarterback can't grip the ball if there's a little water
on it, and figure some things out. But we only
got three games left. I'm already. I always get emotional
thinking that football is gonna end, Like what the hell
(23:32):
am I gonna watch? Desperate Housewives? Are that stupid? Like
Southern Housewives show that my girlfriend had on the other day,
I don't think so. So I'm gonna I'm gonna really
enjoy these last three games like all of us will,
and we'll talk about them all week. The volume
Host
John Middlekauff
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