NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - ATN Playoff Team Rankings, Coaching Tracker & Throne Of Ease Controversy?

Episode Date: January 9, 2018

A room filled with some heroes- Dan Hanzus, Gregg Rosenthal, Marc Sessler & Colleen Wolfe- discuss the latest coaching tracker updates, including the Raiders announcing Jon Gruden (8:00); Changes to the Panthers coaching staff (21:00); Drama and controversy with the Throne of Ease (27:30); The “Shoulders of Greatness” ATN Playoff Team Rankings (43:00), including best quarterbacks, sexiest coordinators (48:00), potential dark horses (58:00); and much more!Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comNFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Knock on Wood Welcome back to another edition of the Around the NFL podcast presented by head and shoulders. My name is Dan Hanzas, and I am joined by a room filled with heroes Mark Sessler, who has the Vapers, Connie Fox, and Greg Rosenthal. What's up, people? Hey, hey, hey, hey. It is really hot in the studio today, though. I often feel alone on an island with my feeling hotter in a room than everyone else, but it feels like I have five sweaters on and three of them on my head. For people listening at home, it's fine.

It's fine. It's fine. Is that a new shirt? By the way? It is. I like it. It's about a week and a half old. Mark went shopping.

He told us over Christmas break. For the first time in about a decade. Went to the Chris Wesleying collection on Amazon.com. Picked up a bunch of stuff. Which is funny because West, now that the paramour is really sunk her claws into him, is now moving away from the flannel outdoorsman, new Timberlake album. look and toward a more refined. Like, Wes is very close to having the silk scarf that ties around his neck

and tucks into the button-down shirt. Wes went blazer at the playoff game based on what I was doing. And so we're borrowing each other's style leanings at this point. There's no telling where one ends the other begins. He did a jacket and sneakers. Absolutely. Extremely exciting times in the fashion world right now. It really is.

Connie is with us. Connie travels the country. every week. And you mentioned before we started that you, you know, you're known to have a few drinks every now and then. You know, I, uh, that's how I unwind. And there was a bomb cyclone, which is a weather development that happened because we broke the environment. That's how I feel like my life is a bomb cyclone. But, um, yes. And because of that, instead of your typical flight path from here directly to the Philadelphia area, you had to go to D.C. and then train up. Yeah. And then you had to pass the time.

Had to pass the time, so I was on the flight. It was a late flight. Everybody was angry and annoyed, and so I passed the time. But, you know, with a couple beers, and I listened to the podcast, and I wrote down some notes about the podcast, and I was going to send them to you guys. And then I looked out it the next morning and was like, you know, this really doesn't need to be said.

It really doesn't. You know, it's funny? It's like the equivalent of, and as I've gotten older and do less in my life in general in terms of a social scene, this doesn't happen as much, but like drunk text that you look at your phone the next morning is like why did I send that and so and so? They're usually after company parties. Yeah, like that no longer is really something I worry about

but that's essentially what you had cooking maybe and one day we'd like to see this. I want to see what you wrote. I was very excited about Y2K. There were a lot of stories, you know, that I'll show you guys. Did you make... Falling through a frozen lake, you talked to... That is my worst night.

nightmare ever like I have nightmares about it I was a figure skater I would never ever in my life skate on a lake and you talking about your friend falling through one really resonated hmm that one hit what was her name Mary Michelle Michelle didn't die she survived that is so scary Michelle lives on uh anyway so yeah next time you get drunk just hit send great no problem and then that's what I do and then regret it in the morning okay here we go there we go big show today the Tuesday show as we head towards divisional round weekend. Woo! Ow! This is what we're talking about today. We're going to do some news, and at the heart of the news is we're doing a little coaching tracker. I'm going to see what's going on with the comings and goings.

We know kind of who's going for the most part now, but now who's getting hired. And, of course, at the top of that list is Johnny Gruden, who got a nice, beefy deal. Also, there are eight teams remaining. in the playoffs and what we're going to do is have a discussion

ranking kind of superlatives almost. We call a playoff team rankings but it's almost superlatives different categories which are the remaining teams, coaches, players top each of the categories

we're going to throw out about eight or so. Not the typical boring article you'd find posted this week on multiple websites, maybe even our own. The chiefs fell in the power rankings this week. Well, yeah, it makes sense. You're out.

Dirt nap. You don't, rise in the power rankings. Speaking of power rankings, Colleen, every Tuesday, NFL network, the power ranking show. Yep, at 3.3.30. Wait. Pacific, yeah. Yep, Pacific. Three o'clock Pacific.

What a cell. 3.30 Pacific. 1130 is my meeting. Oh, that's right. So we got to keep moving. So that's what's coming up today on the show. And we're excited to get going. Lindsay Fulton back behind the glass.

Let's start with some news. Woo! Let's go, Marcus. See, where we're going, huh? Yeah. That, of course, is a cornerback. I should say, of course. How would you know?

That's Chief's cornerback, Marcus Peters, jogging back to the locker room after the Chief's embarrassingly got knocked off by the Titans on Saturday and some fan because this is now the thing in these stadiums. And Arrowhead's an older facility, but I guess they retrofitted it. Now to have the walk between the locker room and the field, they like to have like a fan area where you get to stare at these.

It's like a runway almost. There's a zoo animals. It's like also known as a cash grab. Yeah, it's a cat. Yeah, it's definitely a cash grab. And this fan said, what did they say? Way to go? It was just, yeah.

Yeah, way to go or way to go, Marcus. Let's go. Yeah, he goes, let's go. Andy Reid had just walked by and they were like, Big Red, like still love you, Big Red. And I'm just thinking what is going through Andy Mind? And he reads mine right that. And then they go, let's go, Marcus. Yeah, let's hear it one more time.

Let's go, Marcus. Where are you going? Marcus Peter's like, yeah, where are we going? We're not going to. We're going home. Fans like, in my defense, I'm drunk because I got a $7,500 upcharge to have this access in the tunnelway. I've been drinking since 8.30 a.m. with an idea that we'd win this game.

Anyway, let's do some news starting with, yes, John Gruden, who on Tuesday was announced as the new head. coach of the Oakland Raiders, soon to be Las Vegas Raiders. Rap sheet reported on Friday, of course, that the Raiders were going to make this official announcement and make word in the coach. And guess what? It's a 10-year, $100 million deal for the coach who's been out of the game for a decade. All his coordinators will get four-year deals, Greg.

This is one of the worst kept secrets in the NFL that this was going to happen. But I think it's still hard to wrap your head around the leverage that we Rudin had and the deal that he got, because it's so easily can go very wrong. It can. And people are so focused on the, like, 10-year deal. What a commitment. Like, the years don't matter. It's the money.

He's getting $100 million, whether it lasts three years or whether it lasts all 10 or seven. I mean, if he's a disaster and they don't win any games, he's not going to be their coached for 10 years. I'm very fascinated to see how he presents himself if he's different. When it was John Gruden the first time around, it was all. about John Gruden. I mean, there was no more me first, look at me, head coach than John Gruden. And he would really build his players up in public, and he would bury them and cut them very coldly in private. And I think he rubbed a lot of players the wrong way. They didn't really do a great job in his final six years in Tampa. So to me, there's a lot of questions.

I do like the fact that we're hearing Reggie McKenzie will stay on as general manager that's not officially confirmed, but I think that gives the Raiders a chance for a little more stability. Bringing an extremely exciting hire at offensive coordinator and Greg Olson to pair with defensive coordinator Paul Gunther. I mean, look, I think the thing if you want... So anti

Greg Olson, what's your problem with Greg Olson? Not the Panthers' tight end. He was the racetrack. No, he's not a tight end. He has been a coordinator in the league many times, including under John Greta. What was that about, Mark? I just don't find it that interesting of a hire personally, but Donald Penn, their left tackle, he basically already has

called Gruden compared to Steve Kerr going to the Warriors. Well, he played for him before. Like, he played for him in the past. Yeah, and he knows him. I love Donald Penn. I think he's like really good and really smart. But I saw those comments, which were on our network kind of as like, hey, don't cut me. Right.

You know, like, because he is very much sort of up in the air of like, okay, is Donald Penn going to be back? Because you would think John Gruden's going to make a lot of changes. And to your point, what you brought up about him rubbing players the wrong way, there has been some talk speculation that is, Derek Carr, John Gruden, is that a good marriage? Is Carr built emotionally? I mean, he once upon time blocked us, Derek Carr.

So we got under his skin. Oh. Although he's a great quarterback and a future MVP in this league. If Gruden pushes the wrong buttons with Carr, that becomes a very awkward situation because Carr is still viewed as the face of that franchise. And Gruden now, actually, Gruden's the face of the franchise because he's got 10 for 100 mil. I just, I can't wait to see how this all plays out. It's been so long since he was.

coaching. I mean, he's been in the booth for so long, and I feel like the game has kind of changed since the last time he was in this position. So I don't know how it's going to go down. That actually, I think, can be a benefit because when you talk to coaches who are out for a year or so, then they talk about watching film from all over the league, which they don't do when they're in their little burrows with their own team. Gruden has seen the league change with a complete firsthand look. He's talking to all these coaches on a weekly basis. You hope that Gruden would take something from that and change a little bit as a coach. I look at someone like Pat Schumer that got fired in Cleveland

and instead of going and just clinging to what he knew, he went to learn under Chip Kelly, so a completely different type of offense and evolves. Like, is Gruden going to evolve? Or as you say, Greg, is it going to be, his press conference comes on after this show today, and NFL Network is treating it like the second coming of Jesus. So is it all about Gruden, or is there going to be substance behind?

Well, he's entertaining. He is, he makes the league more fun. I guess it's perfect for Vegas. I think it's great. And you mentioned, like, how did he get that leverage? First of all, other coaches around the league like Mike Tomlin or... They got to be, they got to be, they got to be, say, give us that gloop. But he had the leverage because Mark Davis, the Raiders owner, was reportedly wooing John Gruden

and meeting at, you know, confidential hooters across America or wherever they... There's no such thing as a confidential hooters. I don't know. Wherever they met up, I think that's where they meet up for the last six. year is trying to bring John Gruden back to the fold. And Gruden just kept saying no, no, no. And that's how you get that price up. Yeah.

That's my fantasy football team name next year, confidential hooters. Please. By the way, just a bit of a cessler here. I think this is going to work, at least initially. Really? Yeah. I think the Raiders are going to be good, and I think he's going to juice the franchise. But, I mean, they better, if they don't hit the ground running, if they're

a lot of pressure to win now. If they're four and eight in November, and they have nine more years on the deal, $90 million. It's like, what are you going to do? And what if he clashes with ownership? That is so much money. It's such a huge financial risk. And yeah, you can get fire him at any time and start over.

He has a 20-year relationship with Mark Davis. So I think that's one of the attractions is that he's got someone he gets along with. And I'm not worried about the Derek Car thing. Gruden goes in there knowing that Carr is the most important guy and their relationship is the most important part of that franchise. There's no thought of changing quarterback. Frundon also loves Derek Carr. I mean, on record, he's glowed over him on like very...

Well, I mean, who hasn't he glowed over? Right. It just feels very boom or busty to me. People always said that. Like, that's what he was like in the booth. And I was thinking, they don't remember what he was like as a coach. He would puff up his players as the greatest ever, and then he would cut them the next day. Oh, my God.

Moving on, Matt Nagy. Nagy, naggy. I go naggy. I go naggy. I got, like, pulled into one of those Twitter things where it's like an insult. sufferable conversation about the pronunciation of the name and the region of the world and it was somehow turned into some type of culture war and I'm like bros I don't want to be involved with this this was on fire a week ago and then caught fire again yesterday I've seen it

in my in my I mean really enjoy your conversation fellows I hope it goes I hope you come to neggy is the other one that's floating out there naggy naggy I think I think I don't know naggy sounds kind of weird I'm going naggy like jack naggy the former Indians ace the team announced Monday, that being the Chicago Bears, that Chiefs Offensive Coordinator, Matt Nagy, is the new head coach of the Bears. Nagy interviewed, or is it Nagy? Let's at least make an in-house decision.

Yeah, what's the in-house decision? If you're referring to Charles Nagy, the former Indians pitcher, definitely Nagy. There was Nagy. Charles Nagy. I always went Nagy. Well, let's, how about we go, let's go Nagy, and then we'll reassess.

We need to be on the same thing. Let's have the listeners to sign. And it's officially Camara, which I think everyone needs to get on board here. The polls up right now around the NFL. You can vote. We'll have the results at the end of the show. Wait until we get to the Packers' GMs. It's not Camara?

No, it's Camara. Camara. That one's official now. That's tomato tomato. Oh, my God. But what, Nagy? I'm going Nagy. Nagy.

Like a naggy. Let's move forward. But we need to be in lockstep. Nagy. Okay. Anyway, Nagy interviewed with Ryan Pace on Sunday, right after the Chiefs blew it against the Titans. He also interviewed with the Colts about their gig rap sheet reported,

but he takes the Bears job. And this is a Bears team that finished last the NFC North and every year John Fox was there. And Colleen, like we've been talking about, it's not a surprise. And I think the Rams had the template with their young quarterback, get an offensive-minded head coach in there

who could develop the QB and hope that saves the franchise or changes fortune. and I think that's what the bears are going for here with Nagy. Yeah, I was reading about Nagy last night, and then I woke up on top of my computer this morning. So I think that I think that's really like sunk in. But one of the things that is interesting is he was hired as an Eagles intern in 2008 under 90s. Not long ago.

2008. Like that, and now he's a head coach. So not even 10 years later. But I think it is a good fit with Trubisky. And as you mentioned, with kind of the trend of bringing in. younger head coaches because maybe they can relate better to the players. But I think that Nagy is going to make good use of Trubisky's mobility. And I think since he's learned under Andy Reid and the West Coast offense,

we're going to see him just kind of work with Trubisky and they're going to be throwing the ball a lot, I think, next season. I don't know if this. No, did I? No, we've come to an agreement that it's, that it's Nagy as a group. Can we give him a nickname? That might be the winner. I don't think this happens unless Sean McVeigh roared to such a successful season

because I think that's still a bit of an old boy's network where a 39-year-old coach who you're saying, he was an arena league quarterback a decade ago. I mean, this guy has not been in the circle for 15, 20 years. I think it helps when they watch someone like Sean McVe transform an offense. You can find an offense more dead than Chicago. So the script is similar. And yes, it's a West Coast offense. It's a really good fit for Trubisky, and we'll see where it goes.

He's going to have to do a lot quickly. People have been making that connection, and that makes sense, but you have a lot of other great things that happened in Los Angeles, including the personnel that they brought in, having Todd Gurley there. You certainly have a running game in Chicago, but it's a lot to ask, most importantly, is Trubisky going to be good enough? Now, Nagy did they have the experience of developing Patrick Mahomes, a rookie quarterback this year,

seemed to do a good job based on how Mahomes looked in Week 17. What I liked about Nagy and Andy Reid lately, that's, that offense has changed a lot over the years. It's really inventive and forward thinking. And it's a lot of those West Coast principles, they use them, but in a very creative way with some of the Chip Kelly principles. It seems like a fun hire to me. We should mention that Brad Childress ex-Vikings coach, he was part of that change, he was their spread game coordinator. He's retiring. They lose Nagy.

They lose Childress. They could lose Alex Smith, potentially. They decide to move on with Patrick Mahomes. It's going to look a lot different tonight. Maybe I'm a sucker, but when Andy Reid said that Nagy was the best head coaching prospect that he's ever had work for him. And, you know, that's a group that includes John Harbaugh, Ron Rivera, John McDermott, Doug Peterson, Brad Childress. You know, I know it's just like a guy saying that, but I think right when he said that, I was like, oh, that guy's getting hired this year.

Because if Reed says that, it's not just it carries weight. I bet other people around the league think that. If he hits a home run in Chicago, every coach over the age of 44 is done. You're out as head coach. We're going young, 25-year-old coaches. And look at the way that he was able to turn around the Chiefs offense when they were slumping so bad. I'm interested to see who they end up hiring as their defensive coordinator, too. I mean, I wonder if they're going to go like the Rams did and bring in a wise vet, like an older guy like Wade Phillips.

Or a Mark Sessler. Or stop it. They're trying to stick with Fing. They're trying to keep Vic Fangio, who has their defensive. coordinator, but he's going to be a popular free agent coach who has his contract up, so he might go else. Mark, honest answer.

No one listens. None of the bosses upstairs listens. So you don't have to worry about your job security. Okay. If someone offered you Brad Childress's job as the Chiefs spread game coordinator, and obviously you don't have any of the X and O's knowledge. Would it be like downloaded into me

like off a computer chip? No, you have to learn it. Hmm, okay. But you get the offer. Childress's salary, it's comparable to whatever he was making. He's assistant head coach, too, so I think it's up there. Would you take the job? I'm not even joking. Would you take the job?

I think I'd be a raging embarrassment. How can you not be joking, though? Because it's a scenario that I don't know. I mean, I think Childress, you couldn't tell if Childress was doing anything great or not great on a week-to-week basis. He didn't really have his fingerprints directly anything. So maybe I would take it because even if I were an absolute mess, you get one of those. Yeah, you get one of those four-year contracts.

Like you're saying, I get paid. They're like this two months in, even two hours in. This is not a competent individual. You love. I still have the, I'm getting paid for four years. That's what you look. Because all the rest of us would say no immediately. We don't know any, we don't know nearly enough to possibly take that job. I'm looking at it as a four-year coach's guaranteed contract.

That guarantee money is a big deal. They'd fly me in. They'd be like, oh, these are the new Wonderkind. Like he's got a little bit, he understands how to deal with media, this and that. But then, you know, within by the time the first night falls in Kansas City, and I've had, like, in 45-minute conversation with Andy Reid where he realizes I have zero knowledge on how to... Yeah, you're like, so what do you think about the West goes off?

And you're like, yeah, I like short passing. There is witchcraft involved. That's where the bill comes due. No, but I get... The bill comes my way, because I've signed a guaranteed coaching contract. Those guys get paid when they get fired. Where the bill comes do is you're going to get that money and all that, but you're going to have to be in that humiliating scenario with Reed

and go through a whole season of everyone probably hate it. No, I would be, I'll just, I'd be fired and I'd cut my Twitter account and go, live very richly somewhere. Speaking of fired, Mike Shula doesn't have a job anymore. The Panthers offensive coordinator was let go on Tuesday, two days after the Panthers were knocked out of the playoffs by the Saints. Also cut loose. Quarterbacks coach Ken Dorsey, Mark, this is a big move by the Panther.

Shula was there for five seasons. Not always a super popular guy in this room. I think Rosenthal had it out for him for a few years there. But he also was the offensive coordinator. when Cam Newton won MVP, but they haven't reached those heights since, and now he's out of work. I wasn't expecting this one to happen necessarily, but I guess you're saying, look, we went into this season saying that Cam Newton was going to run less. He's our number one asset, and we're not going to continue to use him that way.

And it didn't happen largely, I think, because of a mid-season trade and the way that their offense evolved with Cam Newton, but they were inconsistent in the run. Their passing game was largely a disaster by the end of the year. A lot of that's on personnel. during their Super Bowl year was an assistant coach of the year candidate. I mean, he was fabulous that season. So these things rise and fall. Maybe Rivera just said, we want to reboot or we want to go after someone like John

DiFilippo who's sitting out there. Maybe you have a name in mind when you make this move. Yeah, that's interesting. I mean, to get rid of them both, I mean, just like that, obviously he wants to hit the reset button. And we heard all last year how you just talked about. They wanted to rely less on Cam Newton's legs. that didn't work. And then once they went back to the way that Cam was when he's more mobile,

that's when everything started to click for them again. But obviously, they need to reset a lot of things with that offense. Was it Mike Shula's fault? Maybe it was. Maybe with a different scheme that Christian McCaffrey came in the league as a top 10 pick and couldn't run the football. I mean, is that as well? Or Jonathan Stewart could not average more than three and a half yards of carry the season. Is that on Shula or was that a guy that was running out of gas? I think it's ironic that he got fired after one of their best offensive performance. of the year. Yeah.

It was really Ron Rivera's defense, which was more disappointing late in the year and certainly on Sunday. But Mike Shula is by far the most important figure in Cam Newton's career. He wasn't just the coordinator for five years. He was Cam's quarterback coached for a couple years before getting elevated. So all of Cam Newton's NFL career is with Mike Shula. And maybe I got on him a little too much over the years. Ultimately, he did build an offense kind of around Cam's strength.

which are unique, but it's been his whole career. Don't you want to see, don't you want to try something else? Well, I think what we've seen isn't enough. And maybe it's a little risky that it even gets worse. I don't know, but we've seen them the entire career, make a change. On the subject of pronunciations, you said, elevated. Yeah, I noticed that too. I noticed it too.

Elevated. It just came out. I mean, it just ran out of breath. Nagy, elevated. Nagy, elevated. Nagy, elevated. Go and be there. Yeah, the firings came after Carolina finished the season, 19th in total offense,

28th and passing, which also is that some of these firing sometimes get on my radar a little bit. It's like, well, you had Devin Funches is the number one guy. You traded away Benjamin. Pretty bad offense last year, though, too. So two straight years. But sometimes I wonder, like, is it more personnel or is it scheme? It's easier to say scheme and just say it's not the GM's fault. That was not a sexy personnel grouping at the end of the year.

It was a mess. No. Devin Funchis as your number one wide receiver by far is a problem. And we didn't talk. We should have talked about it, but we didn't. In that game, one of the biggest plays in that game was Kellyn Clay. Is that his name? Keelan Clay. Keel and Clay, the drop in the first quarter.

That could be a totally different game if they go up 7-0. The Panthers. Well, Cam played great. They had 26 first downs. He wasn't the problem. The offense really wasn't the point. That was the most fascinating performance by Cam Newton that I realized he's had better performances, but to me, what he fought through physically.

Yeah. Like I gain a lot of respect for Kim New. It's weird that this comes after that performance. I mean, Keel and Clay makes that catch. They win that game, potentially, and the guy doesn't get fired. It's just sports are weird like that. In other news, hiring and firing news. Brian Guttecansst has a job, a new job, I should say.

That's a good pronunciation. They actually sent out an NFL company-wide email with his pronunciation. I think because of the problematic nature that could arise if you pronounce it incorrectly. Quite problematic. The Packers are promoting their director of player personnel Brian Guttecans to function as Ted Thompson's successor, as general manager,

the new deals for five years. And Guttecans replaces, of course, Ted Thompson. We all have to say that? Who was in that gig since 2005, drafted Aaron Rogers and rode that way for a long time. But a fresh start. and maybe a little bit of surprise that Guantan's got the job, Mark. Well, I think last Tuesday we talked about how everyone just assumed

Elliot Wolf because of the lineage was this rising fill-in-the-blank immediate GM for Green Bay. And it's this guy. You threw out his name. Well, it was Gil Brandt who said that Goudicund is the guy that they really, I said that incorrectly. I love it. They love him. So Elliot Wolf's now probably not going to be back with the Packers.

He's interviewing with the Browns. And it sounds like he, you know, with being passed over here, he's going to wind up somewhere else. The most interesting thing I saw about this hire was from Mike Florio, my old boss at Pro Football Talk, who said if Russ. Humblebrack. If Russ Ball was hired as GM, the thought was Mike McCarthy could lose his job. But McCarthy is very close with guttacons. Gottings.

Right. And because of that now, McCarthy would have, will keep it. So it was almost like the Packers were making a choice also about the head coach. How aggressive will he be in free agency? He said he will be. Like he came out and that was like the first quoted thing. He's like, we're going to change it up.

We're going to spend some money like us. Carnival Barker? Wow. Yeah, so you come on, step right up. Make big changes. It's clearly for all those phony shareholders who have the, you know, I'm a pack. Wow. What is it?

We're not, you know, we don't go out of our way to critique ownership here, Greg. They are owners. I'm not critiquing the fans who bought the piece of paper. I'm critiquing the team for selling the pieces of paper for $300 to say you're an owner of the Packers. Because you get to frame it and put in your living room. That is how it works. A nice thing. And they are technically they are part owners.

They have no. They have no impact. They don't get to sit on the board of direct eyes or anything. That'd be a problem. And finally, let's take a trip to the throne of. of Sleece. Uh-oh. We come in peace.

They seem friendly. I say we trust them. How great for our planet. It's so bad. It's so stupid. I'll never forget we were recording that. And Lakeisha, who's got a line in there, our friend from downstairs. The paramour.

Paramo didn't know what to say. And so we just said, say how great for our planet. It's the most insane line in that whole thing. Anyway, yes. And I was really annoyed when the timing of Seth Wickersham's piece for ESPN.com, a total, total deep dive into the chaos behind the scenes around the New England Patriots right now, all centering around a legacy grab, an ego battle involving Tom Brady,

the quarterback, Robert Kraft, the head coach, or excuse me, the owner, and Bill Belichick, the head coach. And so many juicy tidbits came out of it. I think the big takeaway was, in the report anyway, was that they had reached a breaking point and that the end of this trio together, it could come as soon as at the end of the season after the season

feels like a long shot but you could dream if you're a Patriots hater but this has become the major story Greg around around Foxborough and you know it's a big story when the Patriots are going out of their way to debunk it and off and talk on the record about it they released a statement after the Wickersham piece went up shooting it down and calling some of the reporting in it false and outright kind of fabrications, specifically the angle of it with craft basically telling Belichick to get Garoppel out of there.

A clear mandate to trade according to the people. And Bill Belichick himself even talked about the situation. Everyone in New England saying everything's fine, no one's going anywhere. Here's what Bill had to say. Hey, Bill, there was a report in the New York Daily News this weekend that you would have some interest in coaching the Giants that you want to see if there's any truth to that. right now my interest is trying to do the best I can for our football team to get ready for Saturday and out against Tennessee that's where my total focus is your intention definitely

to be back with the Patriots next season absolutely Greg I know let me make a prediction Greg you're a big nihilist at times nihilist nihilist nihilist nilist not at all you didn't think anything of this is all who cares not a big deal Yes or no, I don't think that's true. I think the part with Garoppolo was the only part that really mattered, though. All the rest was kind of, was none of it was surprising. I thought the reaction to the article and some of the way ESPN sold it was a lot more salacious than what was inside the article. Wickersham was very careful not to really go out of his way to report much of anything as fact.

Kind of like that New York Daily News article, for instance, was a source they said close to Belichick, who made it clear they had not spoken to Belichick whatsoever, and we're just guessing. And then I don't think anyone actually went back and read that New York Daily News article, suddenly it gets passed on that he actually has interest. The part about Garapolo is the story. That's the only story to me. And it's a big one. I have a hard time believing that Bill Belichick would ever do anything totally against his wishes.

That's how he answered that question. He said, anything we do is an organizational decision. He said that on Monday, and that was including the Garapolo. Because to me, that would be a reason for Bill Belichick to leave. If he felt someone made him do something he didn't want to do in terms of personnel, and it wasn't his choice, that would be a reason to quit. I think you would expect me now to come at you hard with how the article actually was a big, accurate takedown of the organization.

But I agree with Greg, because here's right, you're working together for 18 years. What you have shown is more success than any franchise could ever draw. dream of. And along the way, these are egotistical, powerful, prideful people, and they've clashed, and there are multiple clashes. The issue here, because none of this would matter if they had found a way to keep Jimmy G. You would be looking at a franchise. You'd look at a franchise that's going to, you're wondering now, will they be this good for even longer than they had with Brady? That's what you're staring at. They come out in a tough position because they lost a franchise quarterback. The timing couldn't have been worse. We discussed the timing why they couldn't

keep Jimmy G. He had no interest in staying. And Belichick, to me, comes out looking fine in this piece. The thing that I found interesting in it, and I think that there's got to be some truth to the article. Now, I have no idea how much. Obviously, the egos involved are incredible. But I thought the thing that was really interesting was that a lot of the players felt that they had to choose between Brady and his guy, Alex Guerrero, or Belichick and the team trainers. And it was one or the other. And that was like sort of a divisive thing. and they felt kind of caught in the middle.

And I think that that's a problem, and that's pretty toxic. And I think Belcher handled that well. Yeah. And he still talked about it. He went out of his way on Monday to say, I think I have a good relationship with Alex, and you can ask Alex about that. Alex Guerrero is still there at the team facility,

working with Brady and his teammates. To me, all of that stuff feels like, okay, stuff like that happens. They've been working together for 18 years. The part where Brady wants Garapolo out of there, it would almost be surprising if he, didn't right that's you know what i mean like that's not a shot at brady either like i feel like anybody would be that way i think a couple things that were really first of all wickersham who's

done the rounds after this story because it's such a huge story stands by everything and he said the reason he decided to start pursuing the story is as someone that has followed the league closely and has written about the patriots and about brady something didn't pass the smell test when they traded both their young promising quarterbacks in two months yeah when the only guy left was 40. And that was right to follow that lead because there's something that was going on there. And whether or not Kraft said it's not going to go, it's not going to happen with Garapolo, trade him. Belichick, that's what, if that's true, and I'm not ruling out that everyone seems to be, oh, there's no way that could happen. We'll find out if Belichick's back. Maybe he was

influenced. Maybe it's partially true. And you get why the owner would maybe say that because he has so much loyalty to Tom Brady. The other part of the story that, that just to me was juicy and fun was the behind the scenes look that the trading of Garoppolo came in the same season where behind the scenes Patriots personnel coaches see Brady in decline, which we've never heard before and on any level reported or anything that he's misthrows. He cited a specific example of Chris Hogan, the injury that essentially knocked him out for the rest of the season because Brady is more skittish in the pocket. we have really relentlessly praised Brady's pocket presence

and the way he's moved and his quickness late in his career. But according to this report, the Patriots behind the scenes don't feel that way. They feel like he is starting to show his age, which makes the decision to trade Garoppel all the more divisive in that building. Yeah, you've lost your succession plan. That's sort of the dark, looming footnote on all of this.

I think it's like I don't think it right now affects, it sounds like Steve Wilkes is probably going to wind up as the Giants coach. we don't know that yet, but they're not going to pull Belichick away. That would be, I think, stunning if that happened, which is absolutely stunning. And Belichick probably thought he could have had an incredible legacy if he went and won something with Jimmy G two seasons from now. They wrote about that too. He wanted to leave the Patriots in good hands.

He lost that. That's going to bring up. 25 other teams have way worse crap going on behind the scenes than the Patriots. But the whole thing doesn't happen if the same agent, Don Yee, doesn't represent Brady and Garoppel. It is so random because Don Yee, for those who don't follow, is not a super agent with a ton of clients. He's a pretty random agent who happened to have Tom Brady and happen to have Garapolo.

Garoppolo was his client before he was drafted by the Patriots. And that to me is where this all started and it all made it impossible because Garapolo had no interest. And some of the reporting of what they offered him, $17 million a year, that's pretty wild, too, that they were going to be offering Jimmy. And you can see why Tom Brady and Tom Brady's agent and Garapolo, who are all basically sort of on the same team, are not going to be listing to those sort of offers.

And it kind of, it was just bad luck, I think, for the Patriots. What about the conspiracy theory that Belichick and Noid sent Jimmy G to the 49ers to stick it to Tommy Boy, his favorite team that he always wanted to play for? Well, I love it. One little nugget. I thought it was fascinating. And people, Belichick is obviously seen as this sort of grumpy, reclusive dude or whatever.

And it's quite the opposite that after the Super Bowl, he actually sat down for hours with Kyle Shanahan, went over film and talked about that game. He cares about. I think Belichick is becoming more of a thinking about his legacy, not just for the Patriots, but league-wide. It says we became friends with Roger Goodell, which he sort of shot down in saying he hadn't talked to him since Halloween.

and he said that fact of when they last met was 100% inaccurate. It was also an article that said that new players were calling Brady Sir, and that Brady was upset that he didn't get the Patriot of the Week Award. There's some really fun little nuggets. Those little things, that part of stuff didn't really, you're right, I didn't really care. Even the part about them thinking he declined, everyone's going to think different things.

I don't think anyone who watched how he played this year would ever think he was worse than he was five years ago. I never got the Patriot. Award once this year. I was one of my favorite parts. It's not fair. Let's go. I think he's a prideful dude, Brad.

I mean, Brian, like, he did come out today on W.E.I. in Boston and very strongly against the idea that he wanted Jimmy G. out. Now, what's he going to say? We get it. But they, one thing else, talking to Jimmy G. At the Super Bowl last year, where it was the fifth day of media day, you could sit and just hang with them for, like, 40 minutes.

He talked about Brady in a way that they were super tight. It was like, they text. It was like, Joaness in those reporters at the pool side, just sipping Backtrick, the Sessler. Because you want to know why everyone had filed their Will Jimmy G be traded to Cleveland or Team X post two days ago. So there was nothing more to talk about with the dude. He talked about Brady that him and Jacoby Brissette, the three of them had these

incredible text change. He wouldn't tell me what was on him, but they were close friends. That's how he character. It was weird. Like if Brady was actually acting when he did that Jim Gray interview after Garapolo was traded where he acted all-emotion. Another all-emotional. That he's more cold-blooded than I possibly.

You guys want a little, like, peek behind the scenes of the Sessler Garapolo Poolside Chat? Yes. I had a great time with him. How about Sessler at 25? He's younger. That's not fair. It's not a fair comparison.

Ouch. The throne colonies They come in peace They seem friendly I say we trust them How great for our planet Usually by the way

This all comes up when Things are going terribly for the Patriots They are hosting a playoff game this week Against the Tennessee Titans of all times Yeah who predicted that by the way Dan about three weeks ago Well you said they'd get swept by the jails by the Jags.

It's funny how things work out for you. Some parts. But the Titans would, maybe the specific the end result. The end result. The Titans going to Foxborough and going to lose

by 300 points. Congratulations. We'll see. Another double by for you. Exactly. Why do we give the Titans a little credit for pulling off a great comeback? They beat the team.

Well, we gave them plenty of credit on Sunday night. We did. And I, you know, they won the announcement. And Titans fans are fully aware of this. If you knock off the throne of Slees on Sunday,

Titans will be forever retired in this studio. That's for, They should have earned it Sunday. They've won more playoff games than either of your teams combined over the last five years. Our team starting the conversation to be respected. It was an unbelievable performance. How will the Patriots beat the Titans this weekend? You're right.

No, no, no. I think the Patriots will take care of them. What more do you got to do than win a game when you're down 21-3? I said. They've already done it. They got a lot of respect on the show. Yeah, that's true. I listened.

It was a great show. Do you call the Titans of Titans? Never. I do. Yeah. So I get to make the kids. rules of what what I get to a politic for it just like you get to your little uh politic for it you get to your little pal you know patriots jabs in now it's time to talk a little

shoulders of greatness presented by head and shoulders and shoulders and today's topic will be the superlatives of the postseason like it our rankings of, you know, different categories. We're going to throw out each of us going to, I'll go around the room, I'll throw out a category, you give me your answer, and then we could all agree or disagree with the decisions. And Mark, we're going to start with you, buddy.

Okay. We're going to, eight remaining playoff teams, of course. So of those eight teams, who has the top quarterback of the remaining teams? Is that how to put this? I think this ranked the quarterback. Rank the quarterback. Who would you put at the top of your quarterback list of the eight remaining teams?

I mean, I could get cute here. I thought Drew Breeze was incredible on Sunday and it has had a great season in his Hall of Fame quarterback, but my answer is Tom Brady. I don't think I need to spend too much time explaining why. The case for not Tom Brady is that he hasn't played that well for about a month, whereas Drew Breeze, we just saw him play it off his mind. But yeah, it's hard to go again. And if you want to.

It is hard. Well, you can go down the list, too. I might go Ben Rathesberger right now. Going into the playoffs, who am I the most confident in? It's Rathlisberger. And it's close between the top four, because Matt Ryan's played two great games in a row. Ryan had the eye of the tiger.

He was awesome in that game. Breeze has been fantastic over the last three or four weeks, especially Sunday. But Rathlisberger was the best quarterback in the league over the last six, seven, eight weeks, and I put a lot of stock into that. Let me ask you that. Rathlisberger 1, Brady 2.

I don't like the Ben Rathusberger sulks, though. That bothers me about him. And throws devastating interceptions in their last. Like five. So Blake is last. Let's flip this, Greg. You get into the AFC championship game. And the Steelers get Tom Brady and your Patriots get Big Ben.

That's what you'd prefer. Well, that's... Well, is that what you'd prefer? It's a strange argument because I'm a Patriots fan of Tom Brady. You'd be getting the better... You'd be getting the better quarterback, according to you. your ranking here. Right now, I think he's playing better.

Down four points with 90 seconds to play and two timeouts starting at your own 20. This is how I do it. Who's the quarterback I want? I'd probably say Brady. Yeah. Brady. What if Brady doesn't have Gronk? Would it still be Brady?

Well, he did it without. His stats without Kronkowski are incredible. I don't think there's a huge gap, though, between those four, the way Breeze is playing right now or Matt Ryan in a good week. Breeze looks sensational. For me, it's Breeze or Brady, and I can't think, I can't, they're so close. The other, one other nugget I cannot leave out of the. Poor Kaye, Keenham.

He's fifth. You're better than three playoff quarterbacks right now. Mariotta, Blake, and then Foles. My favorite Brady being sensitive about his place in the future of the Patriots Nugget from that story was when Jimmy G heard his shoulder last season. And he scheduled an appointment with the TB12 clinic. and when he got there, the doors were locked. And he couldn't get in for two weeks. I didn't know.

That was the part I found so odd. And his phone calls weren't being returned. And he wasn't able to get treatment until a Patriots official reached out to Guerrero's clinic. I love that. That is some catty behavior from the goat. It is. I'm not even mad at him.

If that's how it went, it is. It just tells, yeah, so Jimmy G. He could tell you poolside about how they're best friends. But when the push comes to shove. Dan and I were going back and forth. He was all, you know, fired up about this article and the Titans making it. He's very upset. And I came up with the conclusion.

At this point, Dan is more emotionally invested in the Patriots than I. I mean, he's rooting against them. But he is more into it. Like, he certainly is more upset that the Titans are going in there that I'm excited about. Well, what do you obsess over more than things that you hate? And you hate the Patriots and you want them out. How many times did you read that article? I read it three times.

I read it three times. On a surface level, it's not even close. But you're more like you pretend like you don't care about the people? I care a lot. But then when like... When a big game happens, like that Steelers game a few weeks ago, you were stewing in your chair and all fired up. Absolutely.

So you're way into it. I'm way in, but all this other stuff and like who's coming in and all the stuff surrounding it, that's not going to get me too excited. Right. That's what a nihilist. It's like you're still going to the AOC championship game and things aren't that bad. It's a Patriots fan. Things are fine.

All right, home field advantage. Who has the best power ranking, the home field advantage? Does that include the teams that are no longer playing at home? If you cannot have a home game, then the Saints could. Saints could. Yeah, anyone could still have one. The only team that's eliminated from... Falcons, technically.

Oh, and the Titans. Give me the Vikings. I'm with you. Why do you say the Vikings? I just think that stadium, I can't wait to go there for the Super Bowl, but it looks like that stadium goes wild for the team when they're there. It's so loud. And, I mean, the fact that the Super Bowl is being hosted there,

if they can get that far, that's incredible home field advantage. That's huge motivation. I had the Vikings there, too. I mean, in terms of results, the results in New England are, they speak for themselves. But the Vikings, like, everyone sort of just keeps, oh, the Rams are going to the Super Bowl. The Vikings are sitting there being like, we don't really care what you think about us. We're going to knock someone out this weekend and host the NFC Championship the next. Well, I was in the Superdome Sunday.

and that was the loudest stadium I've ever been in my life. Wow. And a lot of the people that had been around that team for a while said it had been six years since they had a home game, so there was a lot of pent-up excitement. And it was wild. When they put on stand-up and get crunk after a touchdown, and that place is partying. And when the Panthers were on offense, it was just deafening in that stadium.

Did you stand up and get crunk? I did not, no. No, he's got to be professional. Okay, no, I'm just wondering. It's interesting. No one mentions Pittsburgh. No. Pittsburgh's great.

It's fine. And the Patriots have taken some heat over the years for the Foxborough crowd, and I think it's deserving. Having been around, they're not always there for like the week 13, 1 o'clock game treating it as the real special deal. They'll be up plenty for these playoffs. Heinfeld is good. It's just, I don't think it's at the level of, and the Superdome, if they get a home game and then they see title game, watch out. People there are already like, say, everyone's thinking Saints, Falcons, NFC championship.

All right, that's what they want. Next category. We've got to hurry up. We've got to get this one in before Connie leaves. Okay. Hotest coordinator. This is the most physically attractive coordinator either side of the wall. Not producing the most.

Wait, it is? I thought it was just like who's the best. No, that's how I'm going to answer it. No, the most handsome. Well, I've been to some, you know, training through HR at the company and I'm not comfortable. Well, I have no problem answering this. Yeah, neither do I. And I'm going with Dick Leboe.

Oh. For where he's at his age. Yes. All day. He's a classy guy. He's funny. You're like a debonair. Yes. Ex-athlete. He was a songwriter. Look at that. You can get serenaded by him. I did a lot of research on this topic. Guys with guitars get the chicks. Always.

You can look good as Dick Lebo at his age. You'd be doing fine. He's 80. Markian Manuel from the Falcons got high into my rankings. But after searching every single one of these before the show, I'm going with Frank Reich. And you did a long study of this. I did. And I want to say, there was not, there was no, Mark's idea for the category. There wasn't necessarily a lot to pick from because these guys, like, they look like they've been through some battles.

There's some weather-worn coordinators not getting a lot of sleep here. But Frank Reich still has a bit of that quarterback DNA. Is it Todd Hayley before or after the hip injury? Either way, he did not make my top five. I do think it's, I think it's attractive that Todd Halley shattered his hip fighting for the honor of his wife. I like that. That's not my choice. Um, what was your, your, uh, I'm going Frank Reich.

Reich has kind of like a late period Scott Bacula vibe. A little bit. I like this big quantum leap fan as well as necessary roughness. I will go with Matt Patricia. Shout out to the bear community listening to the show, which I know we have a BV. A large contingent. Um, okay. He also looks a lot.

Someone pointed out he looks exactly like the Buccaneer's mascot. Stop. It's really uncanny. Patricia to me, I mean, he's a guy that can, they can make a thwarty. fire, he can change a tire. He's manly. He can, you know, he can drive stick like you, Connie. Yeah.

And you know what? On Valentine's Day, he might surprise you when he's in the kitchen. Wow. So you actually find him to be the most physically attractive of all the entries. Oh, that's my sounder. Got to go. It is. 1130.

I'm already late from my meeting. It's been real. I can leave my answers with you. I wrote them on the back of a receipt if you want them. Yeah, please. Yeah, let's leave it fine. Wait, do I need this for an expense report? Do you mind?

I'll bring it down for you. I don't need it. Do you mind telling the people in that meeting that it's probably not necessary to have a power rankings production meeting in the divisional round playoff? I think you should come in and tell them. See how that goes over. You can tell them after the pod when you're walking by. Just rank it one to eight by seed and break down. That works.

All right. All right. Farewell. All right. Moving on. We never got an answer to Greg. Right, go ahead. I was thinking Patricia.

Wow. You really stole it. Same reason? That's quite an upset for two people in the run to go back to. I really did think you were saying... I don't, I think that he's like a guy with a big grisly beard who wears a baseball hat backwards. What's wrong with that? No, I think that Patricia's fine.

I just don't think it would have been the, the autumn. You made it a nod to the bear community. So you're calling it a fringe. How about Todd Wash, the Jaguars? defensive coordinator, just because I don't think anyone's mentioned his name on the podcast all season, and he coordinates the best defense in the league. So, you know, that's what's attractive to me. I was telling Dan, strong but silent type. You stay under the radar and you produce. I was telling Dan, at beers with Todd Wash at the Combine Airport back when he was with the Seahawks,

and I will say that he is the kind of guy where, like, women were looking at him as they walk by. He was a big muscle-bound dude pounding beers. So Greg may be honest. something next category all right weird band wagons to jump on okay so this is the team we would join if and just yeah i guess it's obvious dump our own team what do you got we would you got we would dump our own team or like in general of the eight teams who's the team i don't want to root to take it to the house i it sounds strange saying this because uh yeah i definitely have an allegiance to the Saints over the years and I'm rooting for them and I'm rooting for their fans, but it's the Atlanta Falcons. That's my choice. That's the team when I watch them

just the last few weeks kind of coming together and the fact that they're trying to come back from that devastating loss last year. A lot of their fans are Georgia fans trying to lick their wounds from the National Championship game last night. And I don't know, there's something about this team that I just kind of like watching. I like the story. That's kind of, that's the team i have the falcons too um and i did put in parentheticals uh in my notes uh beware it's filling up fast they are you know it's a which isn't a bad thing but i think now that they've kind of found their footing and they played such a uh heady uh quality game against the rams a team that we all really liked and they were the team a tl and then you factor in the the kind of story line behind

this all which is it would be cool trying to um wipe away the pain of an unprecedented Super Bowl loss, maybe even against the team that beat them. So, yeah, I think that to me, that's a band wagon worth jumping on. That would be incredible to watch, so they're on my list. But I went Vikings. I just think that the Vikings fan base has been through so much. Every city you go to, there are Vikings bars, there are a super loyal group. They've never wavered through all the nonsense they've been through.

And if they were to ever pull it off and win a Super Bowl, after a full Super Bowl week, at home in their own streets, and then win that game. game, it would be an incredible one year after we got our first overtime, I think this would top it. The whole experience of being in Minnesota with a quarterback like Case Keenham and a guy like, I just think from the whole coaching staff, Zimmer is likeable. So there, I'd jump right on that bandwagon. Well, if I knew that you were going to say Falcons, I take it back. I'm going back to the Saints. Because this is a fun Saints team. You saw it after the game, like Sean Payton. I like that it meant so much to you. Breaking out the broom.

Accalibrate. Saints are fun. Doing some dancing. You got Alvin Kamara. with the airheads. Oh, it's Camara. Camara, Camara, like a Camero. I love it. He's got the airheads on the sideline. He's walking home.

Cameron, Jordan's like a very fun person. It's a fun, very trash talking. If they made the Super Bowl, they'd be answered. You know who I can't root for, though? He's right next to Belichick to me and he's hard to root for power ranking. He is, though, he's getting a little older. He's wearing his glasses on the sideline on his calling him play.

He's a little more calm than he used to be. You know, maybe not. You're just talking about how you want to join the Falcons bandwagon and he's throwing up the choke sign to them on the sideline. Yeah, and he's breaking out

and he's breaking out a broom when he sweeps the Panthers. I kind of like that in sports. So, you know, it's like... I mean, I'm a big Parcells guy and Peyton is a protege. But I don't know,

there's something to me a little bit more gruff and likable about Parcells. Belichick's a protege too. Tendencies. Yeah. You don't like his protégés. Yeah, but I...

You're not the only one that feels this way about... Arceles could obviously be salty. They might have learned saltiness from Parcells. but I always like Peyton has some enemies you're not you're not alone enough

uniforms power rankings I'll start this one I will also I will bring up the Vikings again like the purple like the horns like the I like the mascot that drives on the motorcycle and the horn they have pretty cool

but it's a classic uniform combo Vikings home unis in purple that's my pick I'm going to give you mine real quick in order because I could not find a better uniform than the Saints on Sunday. Love it. Fantastic. They're my number one.

I go, Saints, Steelers, Patriots, Vikings, Eagles, Titans, Falcons, Jaguars. Don't love the Jaguars universe. No, the helmet's a problem. It gets pretty ugly, the uniforms. Some of the teams, on half the teams have some of the worst uniforms. I do not like the Patriots uniforms, even as a Patriots fan ever since they changed them in the logo. I've never been a fan. I was surprised Eagles was so low on your list.

That's my number one. To me, that's classic. Love that green. I don't like the logo. I feel like the logo is very, like, early 2000s, and it looks a little. I like the unit. I thought it's uniform. I'm going to Eagles.

Yeah, Steelers would be nice. Wait, the Eagles have the wings. Did they have something else? Am I getting confused here? Did the Eagles move away from the wings at a certain point and they'll come back to them? I don't know, but I don't like the dark green color with the black. I feel like it's love, hate for Eagles, because I hear some people say it's the best. uniform in football.

And I, to me, like, I just don't, I don't like the combination of Eagles versus a lot of teams. Steelers is great, too. Steelers is great. It's very good. I think the Jaguars and Titans might have the two worst uniforms in the league. But that's another discussion. Browns would have something to say about that. At least it's classic.

Currently, dark horse potential, a team of the eight that everyone is sleeping on. There aren't a ton of choices here. No, because you can't just pick, like, a third seat or second seat or something. I'd go to the Eagles then because everyone is just assuming the Falcons go in there and win that game and we'll get into the preview of why maybe that will happen or not. But Nick Foles, everyone's just when there's such conventional wisdom all in one direction, that worries me, especially when you've got a lot of talent on that team in Philadelphia. I think it's a great pick. I mean, our pickham show last week showed that when we all sit there and, you know, with ultra hue, predict across the board that one team is going to win without even questioning it.

Yes, things don't go that way. We made it very clear. In fact, we manifest the conversation by saying, how we were going to get it wrong. We just like to put that. We went eight and eight, by the way. It could have been worse. Could have been worse. I went Falcons.

I mean, just because I think a week ago, people thought left for dead, going to get flamed by the Rams, probably Sean McVease, the greatest human on the west side of the United States. And suddenly, Dan Quinn got it done. The guy no one's talking about. The second team I'd pick, though, and I'm not talking Super Bowl. but I think everyone's going to say, oh, they're out this week. I could see the Jaguars defense.

If they get off to a good start against Pittsburgh, winning a weird, wacky game. I can just see that happening. I don't discount them just because they had a terrible game. I don't either. It would have to be a super weird game, but it's possible. Weird. I don't even need to say anything else because, Greg, what you said about the Eagles is exactly how I feel. No one's giving them any chance, but they are still a number one seed.

at home with a good defense and that could travel, that could win a game. That could get them to the next round. But they are a dark horse. Before we go, I just want to talk one more time about Squarespace. Oh, yeah. Support for today's show comes from Squarespace. Ready to start your new business?

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And when you're ready to launch, use the offer code around to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. That's Squarespace.com offer code around. Okay. That's it for today's show. A reminder, this is our video show. The live stream,

which is not really live, but that's how it's promoted on our digital service, is at 6 p.m. Pacific, 9 p.m. Eastern, and we have a correction, Greg. Connie Fox inexcusably got her own power rankings programming wrong. When does that actually air? I believe 6 p.m. Eastern. DVR, if it's too late for this week.

Next week you get. Yeah, they have re-airs overnight, so check that out. She said 3.30 Pacific, which is just wildly inaccurate. You're trash, bro. But our live stream is at 6 p.m. Pacific, 9 p.m. Eastern. Download the show on Apple Podcasts, NFL. Pickham also. That's another show we're on. That's on the network. Saturdays at 8am Eastern. We're down to one showing of Pickham. We got four next week, I heard. Four.

Okay. That's it. Next time here for us will be Thursday. A little crucible talk. Divisional playoffs. Dan Hansa signing off for the Quiet Storm. Connie Fox, the old boss, Lindsey Fulton, Christian Anderson behind the glass. Until Thursday. Everybody knows he's launching a network. Everybody knows him and a Giselle, starting a lifestyle network. Everybody knows. Everybody's known for a long time. Hey, what?

And he was just like, oh, you know, they got the apps, the vegetables. Yeah, you know. Everybody knows. They got the vegetables and the apps. It's hot. Anybody that's plugged in at all knows. This is an I-Heart podcast. Thank you.