Richard Sherman Podcast - Week 13 Reaction

Richard Sherman reacts to Week 13 of the 2024 NFL season, including Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers losing Christian McCaffrey in their blowout loss to Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills, Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks seizing control of the NFC West with a road win over Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets, Saquon Barkley adding to his NFL MVP case with a dominant performance in the Philadelphia Eagles' victory over Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens, Russell Wilson having one of the best games of his career as the Pittsburgh Steelers beat Joe Burrow's Cincinnati Bengals in a shootout, and the Detroit Lions improving to 11-1 on Thanksgiving and ending the Matt Eberflus era for the Chicago Bears with a 23-20 win.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume. You notice you don't do the championship. That
should always be the expectation. All ain't man, Actually go ahead?

(00:32):
Welcome back to the Richard Sherman Podcast, presented by our
friends and partners over at Brightling. Always getting us right,
always got us shining. I got my San Francisco Brightling,
but my Seattle Seahawks one is on the way. I
can't wait to see it. Mitchell. A great week for
your Detroit Lions and the Seattle Seahawks, but the San
Francisco forty nine ers, Mitchell does that and this was

(00:56):
literally worst case scenario.

Speaker 2 (00:58):
Totally was I mean, we talked about it going into
this game. You called it a must win game for
San Francisco. This division looked like it's starting to slip away.
I mean, there's still only two games out, but we
see CMC come up with another injury here. You gotta
be concerned about that. And Richard, I'm sure you're concerned

(01:19):
about the overall trajectory of this team for the rest
of the season. What were your thoughts after this game?

Speaker 1 (01:25):
Well, it went, it went, I mean about how I
thought it would go if things went bad, especially under
the conditions when it starts to snow. I thought, this
is gonna be a tough game for the San Francisco
forty nine ers to go into Buffalo and miraculously pull
out a win. I thought the only way they could
is if Buffalo made the kind of mistakes that San
Francisco forty nine ers did, you know, fumble into football,

(01:48):
slipping and sliding, uncharacteristic Josh Allen, maybe throwing the interception
or two an Aaron pass. But unfortunately, the San Francisco
forty nine ers just could not pull it together, and
it was bad. It was everything that could go wrong.
Kyle hughes Check you know, doesn't fumble the vault very
much at all. It was good play, good play call

(02:08):
by Kyle Shanahan. He gets there, you think, hey, this
touchdown is gonna kind of gets back on track. He
fumbles the football deep O Samuel just trying to make
a play on special teams obviously kickoff return and had
two huge returns in the game. Trying to spark this team,
trying to spark this offense and just just give this
team some life. Fumbles the football, they're they're unable to

(02:32):
recover it. Brock can't can't get a touchdown pass, can't
catch his can't get a grip of the football, empty
hand forward fumble late in the game, and that was
just a dagger. It just never looked like they were right.

Speaker 3 (02:46):
You.

Speaker 1 (02:47):
You you see uncharacteristic things throughout the game. George Kittle
dropping a pass on a screenplay that you know, likely
could have probably had some life, but it's obviously tough conditions.
Fred Warner goes out early in the game to get
an IV's cramping. It's the first quarter of the ball game.
Just uncharacteristic things that you don't expect to see from
this team, and you frankly have never seen from this

(03:10):
this team, This San Francisco forty nine ers team blown
out by twenty five plus points back to back games.
The Green Bay one was not really explainable. You know,
this one, you can kind of understand. The conditions got
to a team from California and they got behind the
eight ball and they just couldn't find their way. It
wasn't like Josh Allen did anything incredibly special, you know,

(03:32):
he was a victim of the conditions as well. Thirteen
for seventeen, one hundred and forty eight yards. But the
two touchdowns, one of them being to himself a really, really,
actually incredible play. He completes a slant route behind at
Amari Cooper, who catches it with one hand's kind of
in the grip of the defender. He laddles it back
to Josh Allen, who continues throughout the play, and it

(03:54):
was just a story of the way the game went
for the San Francisco forty nine ers, Like even when
they get a stop, they didn't get a stop. James
Cook has a huge run I think it was sixty
seven yards or sixty four yards early in the game,
where you know, the safety gyre Brown takes a bad angle.
He gets out the gate and nobody's catching anybody in
this kind of weather, you know, everybody's legs and throws

(04:16):
and everybody's feet or frozen. It feel like you're running
on stilts out there. So it was a great play
from him. But yeah, it's just, you know, just a
sad game. If you're a San Francisco forty nine ers fan.
Not a ton of positives you can take from it.
You know, obviously the division is still tight, a tight race,
and you know, maybe they can make a run and
beat some of these teams late and beat the Rams

(04:38):
and beat the Cardinals and find a way to make
a competitive down stretch. But they definitely don't control their
own destiny anymore. And that's the frustrating part. Even if
Nicholas john Bosa returns and Trent Williams returns and all that,
it may be too little, too late. Christian McCaffrey. With
the injury, they're saying it's a knee injury. I thought
maybe it was just irritation of that achilles, you know,

(05:02):
But they're saying it's a knee injury. That that concerns
me a lot more than if it was the achilles,
because a knee injury non contact in that way, it
is usually pretty serious, especially for a high functioning, high
caliber athlete like he is. Ah, it's hard to find
any positives from that. You know, they go to play
the Bears next week, and the Bears aren't a bad
team obviously. They just fired Hebert Flus and just elevated

(05:25):
Thomas Brown, you know, from you know, to coordinator and
now to head coach on an interim basis, and they're
set to be giving him a real true look at it.
But I don't know, I don't really know what what
Kyle Shanahan says to his team after this. You know,
I know how he is in these meetings and how
honest he is, and how serious he takes this game
and how serious he takes you know, these losses, and

(05:47):
he's gonna take it hardest. You know, this is going
to be a very very very very very very I
can't say no varies long flight from Buffalo back to
San Francisco for this team. They'll have to land in
San Francisco instead of sand because San Jose Airport doesn't
stay open that late. So not only will you have
the long flight, but you'll have the long drive. And Mitchell,
this is coming from experience. I'll tell you what. This

(06:09):
is probably the worst flight and drive that they'll have
outside of the Miami super Bowl. That one probably was
not a fun ride at all either. But this one's
gonna hurt. And you know this is gonna be tough.
Questions later on in the season. You know, what are
you gonna do with some of these guys? You start wondering,

(06:29):
you know, whose salary you you eat next year, Who's
who they're moving on from. You know, that's when this
comes in. Who you draft in what draft position you're
gonna have. I don't think they're gonna tank the season
by any means, but you know, do you do you
try to get you know, if Christian McCaffrey injury hopefully
fingers crossed isn't serious, do you still play them or
do you just say, you know, you know, mail it in,

(06:52):
you know, settle them down. Hey, we'll see you next
year when you're healthy and you're one hundred percent. Let's
get ready for next season and take another shot at it,
because this one seems like it's already any new books.
You're going to have to pay Rock Purdy this offseason,
and you got to figure out what that looks like.
So there's so many questions that this kind of game,
this kind of kind of beating, really really put into

(07:15):
perspective for this team and for this fan base, who
have had a tremendous amount of success over the last
six years. They've been in the NFC Championship, been in
multiple Super Bowls. In this season, it just wasn't their year.
The ball didn't bounce their way when when they needed
to have it. There was three or four games there
where they could have had the ball bounced their way,
the record would be different, the mindset would be different,

(07:36):
and the approach would be different down the stretch. But
unfortunately that's not how it happened. That's not how it happened.
So you know, obviously they're going to have to do
some inventory about on this team, on this coaching staff,
see what they're going to do going forward. But it's
just unfortunate. You know, you every season, you're not going
to make the Super Bowl. Every season you're not going
to make the playoffs. But when you have as talented

(07:56):
of a team as this, it's just really disappointing when
it doesn't happen, and then you have games that just
end in this fashion. You know, these aren't just losses.
You know you're Green Bay Beach bad, and Buffalo just
whoops you pretty bad. It's hard to coach off this tape.

Speaker 2 (08:13):
Well, Richard, I'm gonna ask a tough question and it
pertains to the future of the San Francisco forty nine ers.
It's been gut punch after gut punch after gut punch
this season, between the tight losses and the injuries the
key players. Now we see CMC's injury. Now the looming
questions of having to pay brock perty on what that
does the salary cap space. You know, we've talked about

(08:34):
this championship window for the last six seven years. Do
you think this game will be the Dagger and the
San Francisco forty nine ers future championship aspirations? In terms
of this talent base that they have in house right now,
these key role players that are all having to get

(08:54):
paid now.

Speaker 1 (08:56):
No, I don't know if this is gonna be the
end of it. It's gonna be a real, real challenge
going forward, and it's going to be up to the
scouting department in the front office, in a front office
in which they've lost a lot of people. You know,
they've lost Adam Peters, They've lost Martin Mayhew, They've lost
so many guys to become GM's other places. And that's
really cool when you think about it. You know, you're like,

(09:17):
hey man, look at this what a franchise. You know,
how great do you have to be to lose talent
to be GMS elsewhere? But it also affects the quality
of the staff that you have, and they've elevated and
they've tried to continue that and this is gonna be
their greatest challenge this year to find some young guys
to fill those gaps. You know, you're gonna have to

(09:38):
find some young offensive linemen that have to play at
a really high level. They found the right guard that
in Pony. I think that's gonna gonna be around for
a while. But you're gonna have to find likely another center.
I'm not sure Brenda is the answer long term. You're
probably gonna have to find another young left guard to
compete at that spot. You're gonna have to find heir
apparent for Trent Williams whenever he decides to retire and

(10:00):
to hang it up, and that person will probably likely
compete for the right tackle spot until Trent Williams calls
it a career. But I think that's what it's gonna
have to be. You know, I don't think the windows closed.
I think this is too talented of a team. And
I know everybody wants to just, you know, say either
your super Bowl or bust or you're not super Bowl.
But that's too much talent on this team to be

(10:22):
that way. Now. They do need to find more depth.
They need to find more below the superstars in order
for this team to be more consistent because they're so
top heavy. When you lose a guy or two, it
just falls off the rail so fast on both sides
of the football. If you lose Christian mccaffe, you lost
him for a while. You know, you found Jordan Mason,
so that kind of got kind of helped out and

(10:42):
that was fine. But then you lose Brandon Ayuk and
then you lose a huge part of your offense pushing
the ball down the field. Now it looks like you
don't understand how to push the ball downfield. Who's going
to push that spot when you lose Trent Williams and
your whole offensive line looks different. Obviously, in this game,
they didn't get a ton of pressure on them, but
it's because nobody can move. But in the Green Bay game,
there's a ton of pressure on brock Party. Every game

(11:04):
this season outside of this game, there's been a ton
of pressure on brock Party from the interior offensive line
and from that right tackle spot. So I think they're
going to have to show that they can develop and
draft more depth in order for this team to get
back to where they need to be next season.

Speaker 2 (11:19):
But I don't think it's over let's talk about the
Buffalo Bills a little bit. I know their record is
not the best in the AFC, but if you're looking
at the eye test, I think the Buffalo Bills are
the class of the AFC right now. They are a
surprising a lot of folks. What do you think the
Bills chances are here? Do you view them as the
top team in the AFC? I know your power ranks

(11:41):
suggest otherwise, but I mean, just looking at games like this,
how do you not put them above KC at this point?

Speaker 1 (11:49):
Yeah? And for that, let me look at something mental
because I want to make sure I'm telling everybody the
complete gospel about this. Yeah. So all right, depending on
how the season shakes out, you know, they could be
playing the Denver Broncos or the Buffalo Bills if they
are the Baltimore Ravens. If the season ended today, Do

(12:10):
I think they could win that game in the in
the wild card? Potentially? Sure? I'd say yes. How about that,
I'd say yes? But then you go and you potentially
have to play a Pittsburgh team. Am I totally confident
that they that they bully a Pittsburgh team with T J.
Watt and these boys and Cam Hayward playing some of
the best football of his life. Russell Wilson, if he

(12:31):
plays like he did last week, can they go to
Buffalo and get a win? You know, under under less
than ideal conditions? Maybe you know, maybe I just I
wouldn't feel I don't I want Buffalo. I did played
really good, incredible football. But I've seen that. I've seen
this movie before. So when when it comes to certain teams,

(12:51):
I fully respect what I'm saying on tape and what
they're doing. And every season is different. I understand that
you got to look at everything in that scope. But
I have seen them in the playoffs, and they repeatedly
find a way to lose to Patch with Mahomes and
the boys, they find a way to underwhelm in a
game they should not underwhelm when they lose to teams
they shouldn't lose to. So until that changes, no, No,

(13:14):
Kansas City is the class of the division. And I
don't care if they're getting lucky or good or slipping
by or stumbling through Bury eleven and one. They're back
to back super Bowl champs. And until they're not, I mean,
in the San Francisco's forty Ninereds are showing you how
difficult it is to come back. I'llbe it. They lost
to Super Bowl in overtime, but it has an effect

(13:34):
on you. You know, playing that deep into the season
every year, win, lose, or draw, it has a toll
on you. It takes a toll on your body, your mind,
your psyche, everything, your family. And so they're going to
try to do it again. Man, if you tell me
Buffalo has to go to Kansas City, I watched Kansas
City go to Buffalo last year and get the win.
So it's hard for me to with the straight face say, man,

(13:57):
I think the Buffalo Bills are going to beat the
Kansas City Chiefs, and I've never seen it happen in
the playoffs.

Speaker 3 (14:03):
I get you.

Speaker 2 (14:04):
I mean Buffalo was able to take care of him
the other week. It seems like the tides might have
turned a little bit. Josh Allen also, before we leave,
this game, is putting on a MVB caliber season. It
doesn't seem like much can stop this guy. Do you
think that Josh Allen deserves MVP at this point?

Speaker 1 (14:24):
I just don't think that. Like like I always say,
and people get upset with me. The numbers aren't there.
The numbers aren't there for Josh Allen. What he's gonna be.
He's not even top five in touchdown passes. I don't
think he's he's not top five in yards. He's not
top five in any of the categories that you have
to be to be an MVP, and obviously guys that

(14:45):
are our top like Joe Burrow, He's not gonna get consideration.
His team isn't gonna be in it. You know, he'll
probably have the best numbers going away Geno Smith lead
in the league or tied for the league lead, or
up there in passing yards. You know, the Seattle Seahawks,
I don't know if they'll be high enough for him
to get consideration. And then the touchdown passes and things
like that aren't there for him. So Lamar Jackson has

(15:05):
the touchdown passes, has the interceptions, but the Buffalo I
mean Baltimore Ravens aren't playing at the level they were
earlier in the season, or I'd say it'd be his
going away. The numbers say it should be his going away.
But that's when it gets it gets wonky, because that's
when somebody like say Kwan Barkley could mess around and
stumble into a win because how well the Philadelphia Eagles

(15:29):
are playing late in the season. He's having tremendously impactful games.
His numbers are going to be there. He's going to
lead the league in rushing. He's going to have a
silly amount of all purpose yards. He's going to have
a silly amount of touchdowns, even with Jalen Hurts taking
away some of his touchdown pass I mean touchdowns with
the tush push from the one yard line. I think
he's lost three or four touchdowns from that alone. So

(15:52):
that's where I don't know if if Buffalo has a
two to three seed with the numbers that Josh allen,
unless they get substantially better over over the next couple
of games where they could give it to them. But
I mean, like I said this last year about Lamar Jackson,
and they gave it to him. I said, the dutchdown
passes aren't there, the numbers aren't there. Buffalo Bills were,

(16:14):
I mean, but Baltimore was clearly the best team in
football at the time, and records said that their defense
was playing well. It was hard to dispute that. So
maybe if the Buffalo Bills end up the number one seed,
then the numbers won't matter. And he's the quarterback on
the best team in the AFC, then they'll give it
to him. But you know, right now, if the Eagles

(16:34):
are the one seed and Buffalo's the one seed, I
think you got to give it a saquon.

Speaker 2 (16:39):
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Speaker 1 (18:21):
Another game that I was really excited about Mitchell because
the Seattle Seahawks are playing fantastic football right now, but
a tough road game every game in the NFL is tough.
But they had to go to New York, different time zone,
early game, all the theatrics, and they went out there
and got to win. And it did not look like
it at times. It looked like Aaron Rodgers and DeVante

(18:43):
Adam found their groove. It looked like the Jets defense
found some energy. But insert the big cat Mitchell Leonard
Williams the last couple weeks has been incredibly dominant. And
in this league, it doesn't matter how you start Mitchell,
it matters how you finish, and he's finishing the season

(19:04):
in an all pro way. He had two sacks, the
interception ninety one yard interception touchdown return. Devin Witherspoon with
the pressure. Devin Witherspoon just seems to be the reason
everybody scores touchdown because he shows a different kind of
effort every single whether it's run, pay pass, play, turnover,
He's making sure he does everything in his power to

(19:27):
make sure his teammates get to the end zone. He
was leading the way along with the number of his teammates.
Tyrese Knight had a really good game fumble recovery in
the ball game that was a really pivotal turnover in
that game. Geno Smith continues to steady this ship. I
know it wasn't the craziest game, but behind this offensive
line that has struggled consistently this season, he's played really

(19:48):
good football. Sacked three times today, but didn't turn the
ball over, did not throw an interception in this game.
Continue to manage the game, Jackson, Smith and Jigba another
solid game for him and DC Metcalf three in a
row for the Seattle Seahawks, now seven and five. Defensively,
it looks like they've found their groove and their rhythm. Offensively,

(20:09):
they're doing enough to win football games. This is a
talented Jets defense hasn't necessarily played incredibly well. This season
has ups and down. I don't know what happened to them.
Maybe they lost their coach five games into the season
because the owner thinks he knows better than everybody, and
he knows nothing. But it's one of those things that
I think is gonna be really really fun to watch

(20:32):
down the stretch. How the Seattle Seahawks continue to grow
as a team. Mike McDonald continuing to figure this out.
Ernest Jones another really really good performance for him, starting
to I mean can't say starting to find his legs,
has found his legs, has found his home in Seattle.
And hey, consider me impressed.

Speaker 2 (20:54):
You gotta love to see it. And Richard, this game
started off disastrously for the Seattle Seahawks. Thank god this
defense stood and held the line and Leonard Williams had
that pick six because the Seattle Seahawks were about to
go down three scores in the first half, and the
New York Jets, you know, despite their record, have three

(21:14):
and nine.

Speaker 1 (21:15):
Now.

Speaker 2 (21:15):
They are a team littered with you know, former superstars,
superstars and current superstars, and they can up end you
at any time. And you're going on the road in
a cold environment. Was on the line for Seattle here
and it couldn't get much worse. But they battled rich
and you showed that they're they're hungry, they want to win.
They impressed me today. You know, kudos, he already brought

(21:38):
them up. But Leonard Williams, I mean, this guy is
our players in prime time, brought to you by our
friends and partners at Brightling. Richard, I got to show
the Honolulu Blue. I know you're gonna be it's it's
it's in the mail, my friend, and you're gonna be
able to showcase that that this week. But shout out
to Leonard Williams. You know this team needed a big

(22:01):
play and he delivered. He's shining there for bright Lang Richard.
I know you spoke highly of him, but how good
do you think this defense was when they needed the most.

Speaker 1 (22:10):
They were as good as it gets. And they continue
to shine. And it just seems like the more reps
they get, the more games they get under their belt,
the more consistent they get. And another thing, like you said,
this game started disastrous, and when you have that kind
of adversity, you have unexpected, really unforced errors, you usually

(22:34):
can see what a team really is. You know, do
you see start you know, things start pulling at the seams,
you start seeing guys point the finger at one another.
You didn't see any of that this game. I think
they've done a great job of putting those fires out,
having those difficult conversations that need to be had, and
really understanding that we're all going in the same direction.

(22:55):
Guys aren't trying to make mistakes. Guys aren't trying to
and sometimes you need a little you know, sometimes that's
what our defensive coaches would encourage us. They'd be like, hey,
let's celebrate the offense just threw a pick, and we'd
be like, I don't know if we quite celebrating, but
I hear what you're saying. You know, it's another opportunity
to show how great you are. And I think that
this defense is starting to find that groove and starting

(23:17):
to really take ownership and take pride in their ability
to go out there and get stops when stops are needed,
get stops in really tough situations and make turnovers and
impact this game week in and week out. And they
really have Kobe Bryant last week, this week Leonard Williams.
So I'm excited. I mean, the Jets are with The
Jets are lost eight of nine since firing your head coach.

(23:39):
Oh be whoa, Nelly. I guess how crazy is it
that when you fire your head coach, things don't go great.
I hope whatdy Johnson is getting a hint, But something
tells me old dogs don't learn new tricks, and he's
going to continue to do this until he's no longer
the owner of the New York Jets. Unfortunately, Jets fans,
I'm sorry, I don't have a lot of positives to
report on that end, Aaron, you know, two touchdowns, the

(24:03):
interception to Lennard Williams that we talked about, Breeze Hall
I means, just not a great game for this team,
and they had opportunities to win it, opportunities to make plays.
There were some calls throughout this game that I don't
necessarily agree with, but that's how football goes. The Seattle Seahawks, though,
on the other hand, have a chance to go to
Arizona next week and really really make a statement in

(24:26):
this NFC West and really pull away. This is what
makes these late division games so exciting. That you got
the Arizona Cardinals who were in the lead at the
Division two three games ago. Now they've fallen behind, just
took that loss to the Minnesota Vikings in a very
hard fought game. Now the Seattle Seahawks go there with
a chance to really increase their lead, playing their best

(24:48):
football the season. It's an exciting What a time, What
a time, and what a turnaround. This NFC West is
so unpredictable right now. I really can't call it.

Speaker 2 (25:00):
It is awesome, and there's another battle brewing up North
in the NFC North. I mean, despite the Detroit Lions
eleven to one record, they still have the Minnesota Vikings
right at their heels at ten and two. This NFC
North is going to be a wild one. In Detroit
hosted Chicago on Thanksgiving, Richard, I was there. You know,
not a whole lot of folks expected anything crazy out

(25:22):
of this game. Chicago has been on a slide of
recent Caleb Williams has looked so so you know, their
offensive line looks incredibly suspect. Detroit dominates early, injuries come
defensively for them. Bears fire back in the second half,
and it comes down to the final possession and Matt
Eberflus I don't know what he's thinking, Richard, but Jalen

(25:45):
Johnson apparently went off of him at him in the
Bears lock caroom. I mean, first off, what in the
world is going through this guy's head? And second half,
is a competitor like Jalen Johnson front of the program
put yourself in his shoes? How do you respond when
a coach makes a bun headed move like that in
the locker room after a passionate performance out there?

Speaker 1 (26:04):
Piss I'm pissed. Because it's it's uncalled for. This isn't like, hey, coach,
we need you to make some genius call to get
us out of here. We need you to have some
high level football uh intuition to make this a great
game or help us win this game. We just need
you to do the basics. We just need you to
call a timeout so we can kick, so we can
kick the field, go get out of here with a win.

(26:25):
We don't need you to do anything crazy. We need
you to have a plan. We need you to have
a plan. They play you a lot of money just
to have a plan, not do anything crazy. When when
players aren't situationally aware, we get punished for it. When
players aren't understanding, hey, this situation. A receiver catches the ball,
he doesn't understand that it's two minute drill and they
don't have timeouts, and he's celebrating after the play or

(26:46):
spiking it. He's gonna get criticized. So ibra Flus should
get criticized, should get all the things that are coming
his way, all the things, especially after doubling down on
it in the press conference after and I think think
the Bears just had enough at that point because they
allowed him to do another press conference, I think, to
give him an opportunity to say something else, and then

(27:09):
he didn't, and they said, Ah, that's it, that's it,
get rid of it. But but but this is on
Bears leadership too. This is on Bears leadership because way
to waste a really talented team. Way to waste him,
you know, way to draft the receiver when you didn't
need him, Like in this game, you had DJ Moore
eight for ninety seven a touchdown, Keenan Allen five for

(27:30):
seventy three, two touchdowns. What did you need another? What
did you need another great receiver for Roma Doonesay is
probably going to develop into a really really good receiver
in National Football League. This isn't about Roma Doonsay. This
is about a team that needed offensive line hilp going
and having a picking a luxury pick, going for luxury

(27:51):
you're you're like, and then keeping Eberflus after the season,
after he's shown what he's shown, after what he's shown,
at what he's shown, he's continued to show incompetence at times,
and you continue to say, Hey, we're gonna give him
another shot and another shot and another shot. I thought, Hey,
they're getting Caleb Williams, fresh quarterback, new quarterback, fresh start

(28:12):
for the team, fresh head coach. But now you wasted
a talented team, a really good defense that played really
good to finish last year, really good to start this season.
And even in these losses, most of these games they
played really solid, you know. But it's hard to play
good when you don't have a chance, you know. We
talked about the chaos that ensued when they were saying

(28:33):
there was potential chatter about benching Caleb Williams. Obviously, some
good conversations, some positive things came out of that. They
were in this game with a really good chance to win.
If coaching is the reason you lose, and this coach
has shown a propensity to make bad decisions over the
last few years, he deserves blame. But there are other

(28:59):
people ever allowed him to keep coaching after last year.
You deserve some blame too. You knew who he was,
You knew that this could happen, and this wasn't the
first time it happened this season. That's on you, Bears leadership.
Whoever is in control, I don't know if it's the GM,
the president, the owner, you know, every everybody has a

(29:20):
different power structure. I'm not in those buildings. But in
a division game that you you you kind of earned
you you came roaring back. This was a team. This
was the kind of win that brings the team together,
that really like gives some confidence, you know, to make
a nice run at the end of the season. And
a loss right here is what tears the team apart
and and kills the team going down a stretch. And

(29:41):
so congratulations to your your Detroit Lions. Don't mental eleven
and one ten straight again finding ways to win each
and every week, showing that you know division games like
I always say, they're crap shooting a dog fight. I
don't throw the records out the window because they will
not matter. These teams know each other so well. It's
gonna be a doll fighting at the end of the game.

(30:02):
It's usually gonna come down to the last few possessions,
who doesn't make a mistake, who wants in more, et cetera,
et cetera. I'm and Ross and Brown, really good game,
Jamiir Gibs nine rushes for eighty seven yards to two
reception seventeen And then what about the what about the
reporter trying to get my boy Gibbs in trouble, Like,
don't do all the messy nonsense, don't try to don't

(30:23):
try to bring drama into a franchise that doesn't have it.
Don't try to inject some nonsense and storylines into there.
The kid didn't mean anything by it. He didn't mean
to show anything. And what was on the board wasn't
that important, Like, don't do that, I really and I
know Dan Campbell just just did what a coach has
to do in that situation. Understood the question. Said he

(30:44):
didn't know about it, so didn't comment on it. But
stop that.

Speaker 2 (30:49):
And for those that don't know what Richard's referring to,
there was a recent social media post that the Jamir
Gibbs made of one of his teammates in front of
a whiteboard with a bunch of the Detroit Lions offensive
play calls on it. So he was being dragged in
social media. But yeah, Richard, to your point, it was.

(31:09):
It was a non event.

Speaker 3 (31:12):
Back to the.

Speaker 1 (31:14):
If I gave a team the first fifteen plays for
another team Mitchell and it all, or I just gave
you game film, I mean practice film from that week.
There are teams that could not stop you anyway, and
so don't let it confuse you. People are like, oh,
they're gonna eve been a way of their secrets if
they know the calls. Like, it's not like the NFL's
rocket science. It's not like they're running some really complicated

(31:37):
new offense that's never been had. You have to know
when they're running it, what they're running, how they're blocking it,
and then called the perfect defense to stop it. That
that's why I say people are like, oh, man, the
spy getting all this with the with the Patriots. I
understand they were cheating or allegedly, but even if you're cheating,
you got to still go out there and execute it.
And not everybody's able to execute it to the the

(32:00):
degree that you need to execute it. But and we're
watching film every week. We know the plays they're running.
We know the plays they're running, We know the plays.
We know when Jamier gives is in what they're running
is probably gonna beat to the outside. When when David
Montgomery's running, he's probably between the tackles. When you know
a'man ross, Saint Brown's route tree looks very very specific
if you really study it and break it down. So

(32:21):
they're still gonna do it and they're still gonna beat you.
That's what makes them great.

Speaker 3 (32:25):
You're not wrong about that.

Speaker 2 (32:29):
But in terms of the Lions, Richard, they've got some
issues coming, unfortunately in the form of the injury bug.
Yet another player goes to IR and Malcolm Rodriguez. They've
got some twelve players on their initial defense that is
now on the IR. They've signed Jamal Williams, They've signed

(32:51):
Kwan Alexander, They've signed a couple other guys off the
Seattle's practice squad and the Rams practice squad this this
past week. If you're the Detroit Lions, how concerned are
you about this rash of injuries that they are facing
right now.

Speaker 1 (33:04):
I'm slightly concerned, but not not overly concerned because they'll
get a lot of guys back before the playoffs, and
at this point they're pretty much into the playoffs. They're
gonna get in. I know they want to play in
front of Detroit fans and they're gonna have to pretty
much went out. You know how tight the NFC North
is to do that obviously starting with this weekend. But
the way you combat injuries, especially in a secondary and

(33:26):
linebacker Corey is a great front, and the front eating
and DJ Reider to two sacks this last game, Zadarius
Smith got a sack and a half. Are really starting
to come into their own. Zadarius finally, you know, getting
his chance to show Detroit fans what he can do.
And he's a really talented pass rusher and great against
the run as well. And I think I think it'll

(33:47):
be fine. They won't be able to be as aggressive
as a secondary with man coverage. They'll likely have to
play a lot of bend but don't break defense. So
as fans, you're gonna have to just work with them
and understand that this is the way they're to have
to play unless you want guys to get beat. And
you know, if you want them to play man all
the time and you want Aaron Glenn to do that
and these young guys get beat, then good luck to you.

(34:10):
But I think he's gonna come up with a really
good plan to mass these deficiencies that they have and
weather the storm. Obviously a really talented team in Green Bay,
but a team that again it's a divisional game. It's
gonna get ugly, it's gonna get nasty, it's gonna be scrappy.
They're gonna have to run the football, manage this game,
control that clock so that this defense isn't on the

(34:31):
field as long. And that's the biggest, the biggest way
you you manage this, The biggest way you overcome these injuries,
especially on the defensive side of the ball, is the
best defense is a great offense and great run game.
And you get up and you you give them some cushion,
You let them be able to rush the passer, and

(34:52):
these young guys are gonna have to step up. You
guys have done a great job in Detroit developing young players,
developing the culture. And the guys that they picked up
are players. Alexander I mean, he's gonna be a spark
plug if nothing else. He's gonna be running like his
hair is on fire. He's gonna play hard. He's gonna
uphold the standard that they set in Detroit. And Jamal Williams,

(35:13):
I mean, Jamal Adams is a guy.

Speaker 3 (35:14):
Jamal Adams.

Speaker 1 (35:15):
Jamal Adams is a guy that would likely help with
the linebacker situation if he's come to the understanding that
he's not gonna be able to help at safety, like
he's accustomed to, you know. I mean, at some point
in your career you have to understand everybody's saying the
same thing. You're gonna have to adjust. So I think
they'll they'll have him in a hybrid role if they
if they have that role for him, but I think

(35:36):
they'll be fun. It's time for this week's tastiest matchup
in a segment we're calling Sunday Night food Ball, brought
to you by Uber Eats.

Speaker 2 (35:45):
Richard, Let's take the Philly and Baltimore. This probably was
the game of the weekend. We saw two Juggernauts face
head to head and ultimately Philly comes out on top.
This team right now, the Philadelphia Eagles are so balanced.
They did this without the Vonte Smith. We saw Saquon
Barkley continue his impressive streak of games, and I'm thinking

(36:08):
he's firmly putting himself in that MVB conversation right now, Richard,
this is Lamar Jackson's second loss against the n NFC
foe in the last twenty five attempts. Believe it or not,
The last loss was against Daniel Jones and the New
York Giants a few years ago. How worried are you
of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC. Their defense is

(36:30):
coming together. These rookies on the defensive side of the
ball are just absolutely playing lights out. Richard, what are
your thoughts on Philly?

Speaker 1 (36:38):
Well, I like him, I like everything they're doing. It's
just outside of Saquon. It's concerning right now, That's what
i'd say, because the games I've watched against the Commanders,
the games you just watched Baltimore, when Saquon doesn't take over.
Even the New Orleans game early in the season, you know,
it was a doll fight back and forth, ended up
thirteen to fifteen. I believe they got a lot of yards,

(37:02):
but the game didn't really break open until Saquon literally
broke it open and had a huge play, explosive play,
and they're living and dying by that. Now. He's having
an incredible season, So sure, maybe you can ride that
all the way to the super Bowl. But in the
playoffs you got to kind of expect for your superstars
to have an off game or not have the same

(37:23):
game that they had. He had twenty three carries for
one hundred and seven yards in a touchdown. I'm not
saying Saquan isn't having an MVP All Pro season. He
definitely is. But in the playoffs, somebody will play for
the run. Somebody will play eight man box football all
day long and say, hey, Jalen Hurts beat us, AJ
Brown beat us Now. AJ Brown is one of the

(37:45):
best receivers in the National Football League. Devonte Smith, I
think is a really good receiver. Dallas had a really
good game in this game, especially in crucial situations when
they had to have it. But eleven for nineteen for
one hundred and eighteen yards, one touchdown, I'm just not impressive,
just not impressive. Even with Saquon's twenty three carries for
one hundred and seven yards. This Baltimore Ravens secondary was

(38:09):
isn't considered great, you know. I mean, right now, I'd
say Marlon Humphries is having a really good year getting turnovers, interceptions,
but statistically overall as a pass defense and rankings wise,
they're they're not playing that great. So to be held
forred to one hundred and eighteen yards as a quarterback
with the weapons that I just told you about, including

(38:30):
Saquon in the receiving game, is what is concerning to me. Obviously,
that defense Like you said, Jalen Carter has really stepped
up in a huge way as a leader and obviously
continues to thrive as an impact player. Everybody's going to
be scratching their heads later why he fail so far
in the draft. You know, we heard the nonsense that

(38:51):
came up Draft Day and all that, and I'm sure
the Eagles are very ecstatic that he failed there because
all these Georgia Bulldogs are starting to play. Nolan Smith
got another sack this game, are starting to play like
their cape bulloff, starting to show Nikobe Dean really starting
to show what they're cape bulloff. He had the interception
to end the game against the Jacksonville Daguars a few

(39:14):
weeks ago, so I think that's also a part of it.
Vic Fangio. I mean, I don't know if they have
an Assistant of the Year award, but if they do,
he's gonna have. He's gonna have a real good chance
at it. If it's not him, it's a Cliff Kingsbury
or some of these other guys that have really been
awesome at their jobs this year. But the concerning thing

(39:35):
for the Baltimore Ravens is this was one of those
ones that. I mean, you could say several times, if
Justin Tucker makes his field goals, they win the game.
And he's been so automatic for so long that it's
almost like a foregone conclusion when he lines up, he's
gonna make it. And now it's gotten to the point

(39:57):
where you're like, I don't know if I wanted to
kick it. I mean from thirty I know it's been
really frustrating for Baltimore Ravens fans because as great as
he's been for his career, and I mean twenty sixteen
to twenty twenty three was ninety one percent, he was
two sixty five for two ninety great. This year he's
missed ten field goals. He's nineteen for twenty nine, seventy percent.

(40:20):
That's awful for a kicker. And if he wasn't the
Hall of Famer future Hall of Famer that he is,
and Baltimore shows the kind of loyalty they should to
a Hall of Fame kicker, a guy who's who's been
lights out for a long time, I think they'd be
trying to have kickers this week and trying to replace him,
But I don't think they'll ever do that. I think
they have too much respect and regard, and he's earned it,

(40:41):
he's earned grace. But this is another game that you
look at and you say, come on now, these weren't
hard kicks. These weren't tough, crazy kicks. These are ones
that you have to have. And Justin Tucker has been
one of the most deadly long range kickers for a
long time. If he does this in the playoffs, I
don't know what they're going to do this all season
with him.

Speaker 2 (41:01):
It seemed to be the seasons the year of the kicker.
You know, we've seen so many kickers that have had
issues and they're impacting their team's outcomes left and right,
and here's another one for Baltimore. This surprised me even
more that this was at home for them. I thought
for sure they would take this game.

Speaker 3 (41:17):
From the Eagles.

Speaker 2 (41:18):
So impressed with Phillies defense, and you got to give
them credit. The Ravens go on a bye week this
upcoming week so they can get their act together, and
then the Eagles face the up and coming against Carolina Panthers,
who've proven to be a bigger challenge and most expected.
That's this week's Sunday Night Foodball, brought to you by
Uber eats, the official on demand delivery partner of the NFL.

(41:39):
Uber Eats has the best GameDay deals all season long.
Order Now for Game Day, let's go to the game
of the weekend. In terms of just total style of play.
I mean, this was a wild one in Cincinnati against
the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was the most points scored in
a first half and one hundred and thirty one meetings
between these two teams. Joe Burrow continues to impress. I mean,

(42:03):
the guy's had a dynamite season and yet they cannot
win a game.

Speaker 3 (42:08):
What is going on with Cincinnati?

Speaker 2 (42:11):
Because this guy could potentially lead the lead the league
in passing yards, passing touchdowns.

Speaker 3 (42:16):
And they're four games below five hundred. What in the
world is wrong with Cincinnati.

Speaker 1 (42:21):
They can't play defense. They're not stopping anybody, and it's
it's they have decent players, but you're not gonna just
like Trey Hendrickson can't do it by himself. He's their
leading pass rusher, but they have very little outside of him.
Cam Taylor britt the pick six off the you know,
controversial non call call. I don't care. I mean, these

(42:44):
receivers get enough calls. It's every now and then, you
deserve to to not get a call in the defense benefit.
I mean, I'm tired of people complain about stuff like that.
But Joe Burrow and this offense are literally doing every
single thing they can't to score thirty eight points three touchdowns.
He did have the interception, but in a losing effort.

(43:05):
I mean that's I've never seen a team score this
many points and losses. I mean they scored thirty three
plus and forced for losses this season. I mean it's
only happened once to any other team in the National
Football League one time. They've had it happen four times.
That's awful by the defense, and I guess clearly you

(43:28):
see where you need to invest next season, your money
and your capital and all that. But you're gonna have
to pay these receivers and you're gonna have to draft defense.
You're gonna have to pay these receivers or you don't
pay the receivers. In your offense takes a step back,
and then your defense steps up and you're in the
same boat because you're not scoring the most points. So
I really don't know what you do. I know it's frustrating.

(43:50):
To be in that locker room. If you're Joe Burrow,
you gotta be saying, what more can I do? What
more can I say? Jamar Chase, what more can I do?
To Higgins? What more can I do? Because no matter
what they do, they continue to lose ball games. And
I watched them lose to the Baltimore Ravens when he
had four hundred yards, five touchdowns, no interceptions. It's got

(44:13):
to be frustrating, but you got to give the Pittsburgh
Steelers Mike Tomlin Russell Wilson. This is the second highest
yardist total of his career, probably his best game as
a pro. Twenty nine to thirty eight, three fourteen I
mean four fourteen my apologies, three touchdowns, the one interception
that was very It was controversial to say the least,

(44:33):
but he just really performed at a high level when
they needed it. Obviously, this defense isn't great, but he's
taking advantage of it just like everybody else has. He executed,
got the ball to George Pickens when he needed to.
He had three catches for seventy four yards to touchdown,
had some huge plays Pat Firemouth six catches for sixty
eight yards. But they continue to show a balanced attack.

(44:58):
Najie Harris sixteen carry five yards. They're just doing what
they need to do to win these games. And Mike
Tomlin with his nineteenth straight winning season, our eighteenth straight
winning season without a losing record. What more can you
say about him? It'd be really I know Dan Campbell
obviously has a case for Coach of the Year. I

(45:21):
think Tomlin is right there with him, Sirianni with what
the Philadelphia Eagles are. You know, fans were calling for
his job early in the season. Here he is at
the number two seed, ten and two at this point
in the season, he's going to have a case for it.
Kevin O'Connell with a Minnesota Vikings team that I don't
know is as talented as their record is, but you

(45:43):
are what your record is. I guess Pittsburgh Steelers deserve
a ton of credit. Their defense, which has been really
great this season, was not great this day. But the
guy who's always great no matter what everybody else does
is t J. Watt. He had two sacks, the force
fumble on Joe Burrow. I love the way he plays.
I love the way he plays because on that play,
most guys would have went to wrap up or for

(46:05):
a tough, tough hit on the quarterback and to knock
him to the ground and gave the quarterback the ability
to cock his arm back and throw. All T. J.
Watt did was slap the elbow. Slapped the elbow. I
reached as far as I could and slapped the elbow.
That's as close and as fast as I can get
to the quarterback and be impact to play. Joe Burrow
drops the ball huge playing the ball game. That just

(46:27):
goes to football IQ. His impact as a player, all
the positive things, just the heck of a player and
a heck of a play. Five quarterback hits in the game.
They played the Browns next week and we watched Jamis
and those guys beat him in that snowy icy game
where where we're doing snow angels at the end. But

(46:47):
this one is in Pittsburgh, so we'll see if they
can repeat that performance. I'm sure they'll see some vulnerabilities
based on what the Bengals were able to do, but uh,
you know, we'll see Football's football.

Speaker 2 (47:03):
Dealers are gonna want their revenge. Let's talk a little
bit Russ about Russell Wilson here though, rich I mean,
these last two years in Denver, we're ones. I'm sure
he wishes we're not on his career resume. Ultimately forgetful, forgettable.
And then he gets his way to Pittsburgh. You know,
he's in a QB battle with Justin Fields and ultimately,
you know, injures his calf prior to the season and

(47:25):
works his way into the starting position and now he's
playing some of the best football of his career. You
can see his confidence level. You can see him getting
his his receivers involved in George Pickens and now we
see Pat Fryer Muth do his thing. Today, Russell Wilson
looks really comfortable out there and as you know, I mean,
he can wan win these big ball games. What's the

(47:46):
difference between this year in the last prior to two
years for Russell Wilson.

Speaker 1 (47:51):
Well, I think it's you know, it's a combination of
a lot of things. He's got a coach that believes
in him, and he has a very solid system around him.
He's shown some hu humilody. You don't you don't hear
the interviews and things that you know, the catch phrases
and things like that that he showed in Denver, where
it just seems like he was trying to separate himself
from the Seattle Seahawks and really identify himself as a

(48:11):
as a as an individual that that plays at a
high level that needs to be recognized week in and
week out. I think right now he's just staying with
the team atmosphere. You don't hear anything after press conferences
outside of you know what you need to hear the
questions that are answered. I think Mike Tomlin has done
a great job of managing the expectations from him and
with him having really honest conversations with him. The way

(48:35):
they're coaching him. Arthur Smith has done a great job
coming up with a game plan that that really really
focuses on his strengths and and spotlights the things that
he does really well and keeps him out of the
things that he doesn't do well. They they they have
a really good run game, and he's just played good football.

(48:55):
I mean, you got to give him credit. He's throwing
the ball well, he's he's been accurate on a deep ball,
which it's been a standard and soal worth of his career.
But these aren't the best receivers in the world. It's
not like he's like these receivers have been outstanding for
their entire career. A Calvin Austin is catching touchdown passes
George Pickens called a touchdown pass far iron mouth has

(49:18):
been solid throughout his career. But you wouldn't put this
as a top five, top ten offensive weapons corps in
the National Football League. And so he has elevated them
in a very cool way, especially this game. But the
Bengals didn't didn't do themselves any favors with the way
they played some of these things. But you got to
give them credit for doing what they needed to do
in executing at a high level a really big time

(49:41):
game coming up against the Browns that they're going to
have to win to continue to keep that lead in
the AFC North, with the Baltimore Ravens taking a really
head scratching loss that we just talked about, and now
eight and five, a team that you know people are
talking about to MVP candidates and likely won't be MVP

(50:02):
candidates regardless of the seasons they have because of how
far are they've fallen off as a team in that category.
It's hard to have MVP candidates when you're not in
the top four top five International Football League's records. Wise,
it looks like their division I have right now. You know,
if they continue to play as they have and continue
to and Mike Tomlin is really he's the symbol of

(50:26):
consistency in the National Football League right now.

Speaker 2 (50:29):
Richard, Let's take it to Atlanta, the Chargers going to Atlanta.
Atlanta's desperate for a win. This is another division in
the NFC South that it's too close to call. And
this Charger team, with the help of their defense, their
defense is looking fierce out there. And Derwin James with
the interception tarhe still with the picks six four interceptions

(50:53):
on the day, frustrating the living hack out of Kirk Cousins.
We talked about the LA Chargers in their defense a
couple of weeks back, and the question to you was
to buy or sell the LA Chargers have the best
defense in the league, and you sold on that. After
today's outcome, do you think that you might have to
rethink that?

Speaker 1 (51:14):
Well, I got to rethink it to a degree, mentro,
but they got to do it in the playoffs for
me to really consider it. So they are playing some
really great football to overcome the things that they did
in this game was incredible. The fake punt, the failed
fake punt, the fumble in their own territory, those things
that Justin Herbert got beat up in this game, sacked

(51:36):
five times only through for one hundred and forty seven
yards sixteen to twenty three, and your defense still finds
a way to get it done. I mean, hats off
to them and what they've done this season. They're the
reason this team is eight and four right now. Justin
Herbert hasn't had a really great season, hasn't had to
be great. But again, like I said about about Jalen Hurts,

(51:57):
he's gonna have to be better than this in the playoffs,
sixteen for twenty three fo one hundred and forty seven yards.
It may have gotten it done in his tight ball
game against Atlanta because Kirk Cousins throws four interceptions, but
in the ballgame against Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson,
that's not gonna get it done. And so kudos to

(52:18):
the Chargers. Their defense deserves a ton of credit for
everything they've done this season. They're putting it together. Derwin
James with an interception, tar Heeps steal with two interceptions,
one of them being a pick six. Marcus May who
just got there cut from the Miami Dolphins picked up,
goes in there immediately makes an impact. Congratulations and kudos

(52:39):
to him for a really good game. But concerning for
the Atlanta Falcons, who were in control of this NFC South,
take this loss and now give the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
who come up with a huge win against Bryce Young
and this Carolina Panthers team that has shown a bit
of a resurgence late in this season, looked better. Bryce

(53:01):
Young has played a lot better. I'm concerned because they
ran Bajon Robinson enough twenty six carries for one hundred
and two yards in a touchdown. Ray Ray McLeod has
been a godsend for Kirk Cousins, really been impactful. Four
catches for ninety five yards. They even got some some
sacks from their defense. But just an uncharacteristic game from

(53:22):
Kirk Cousins twenty four twenty four, thirty nine for two
forty five. But the four interceptions are going to be
the thing that keeps him up at late at night
this week because they had a chance to win this
game many many times. I think the rest of their
team would say they played well enough to win, but
when you have those crucial interceptions, and the Chargers deserve

(53:42):
credit for those interceptions, it wasn't like he was just,
you know, tossing these things up and they were getting
lucky or tip balls or anything. But he's gonna have
to play better than that down stretch for them to
have any chance of winning. They have a tough game
against the Minnesota Vikings coming up next, and the Chargers
have a game I can't wait to see against the
Kansas City Chiefs, who have been living with a rabbit's

(54:06):
foot in their shoe. I was at the game last
week and I have not seen anything like that. Where
we're walking out and it looks like the Raiders are
driving down the field. Eight and O'Connell's having a game
that he's gonna be able to tell his kids about.
He beat Patrick Mahomes and he beat him with a
game winning drive, and you're like, man, I just don't
see a way of the Chiefs getting out of this one.

(54:29):
They have a play. They spike the ball all the
time in the world to call the play and eight
and O'Connell comes out of the huddle clapping his hands
for the ball, and when you clapping, the offensive line
looks back. They see you clapping. The guard knows he
doesn't have a lot of time. He's not thinking about anything.
He's gonna tap him and snap the ball. The problem
was the receivers weren't set, and so as eight and

(54:51):
O'Connell was clapping, he looks around and sees people weren't set.
It's gonna be a penalty on the play, and he
freezes unfortunate situation. They snapped the ball, hit him in
the shoulder, bounces to the Chiefs. They win the game
every single week. It's seems like something else is happening
for the Kansas City Chiefs to get these ball games.
But sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. And
they're eleven and one and they're good and lucky.

Speaker 3 (55:15):
That's just it there.

Speaker 2 (55:17):
It's tough to beat when you are good and very lucky,
and the Chiefs are both of those things right now.
And then let's look at the Falcons. Though the story
of this game is gonna be Kirk Cousins heading home
back to Minnesota for the first time since signing with
the Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta's desperate for a win. What do
they have to do to get things turned around here?

(55:40):
This is three straight losses. They're in a tight division battle. Obviously,
the Minnesota needs to keep up the pace with the
Detroit Lions, so they're going to be eager to get
a win as well. What's it gonna take for the
Falcons to come out with a w.

Speaker 1 (55:52):
They're gonna have to deal with pressure because Brian Flores
is gonna bring pressure. They bring it every week. They're
riding a high horse. They feel really good what they
have and this Atlanta Falcons offense just hasn't looked great.
They have all the weapons in the world, but it's
been a bit of an up and down season. So
they're gonna have to protect our cousins better. He's gonna

(56:12):
have to protect the ball a lot better. They're gonna
have to have a plan to deal with this pressure
and to deal with the when they pop out and
run cover two. That's gonna be a big part of it.
Convert because I think the other side of the ball.
I think they got pressure on defense, they got sacks,
they made enough plays, made a play in a special
teams game, had a turnover on defense, so they did

(56:34):
the things that they needed to do to give this
team a chance to win. But you have to be
able to convert on offense, and they weren't able to
do that. We'll see what they're gonna be able to
do against this Minnesota Vikings defense because they are feast
or famine as well.

Speaker 2 (56:49):
Well, Richard, that concludes our week thirteen recap. Sign us off,
my friend. Well, we appreciate you. It's week thirteen already.
If your team's doing great, feel great, rid ready for
these playoffs. Make your plans to maybe attend the game.
If your team isn't doing great, study college because there's
some good players out there that could potentially change the

(57:09):
direction of your team. Thank you everybody who spent any
time listening to this podcast. You could be anywhere in
the world, but you here with me and we appreciate it.
Hit that sub button if you knew Happy Holidays.

Speaker 3 (57:38):
The volume