NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Cowboys-Bucs Recap, News & Giants Deep Dive with Pat Leonard

Episode Date: January 17, 2023

A room filled with some heroes - Dan Hanzus, Marc Sessler, Gregg Rosenthal and Colleen Wolfe bring you all the latest news from around the league, starting with a recap of the final game of Super Wild Card Weekend: Cowboys at Buccaneers (4:03). Then, the heroes cover the news (23:06), including the latest on Sean Payton, Sean McVay, Jim Harbaugh, Joe Lombardi, Mike LaFleur, Monti Ossenfort, Jim Schwartz, and Bill O'Brien. Finally, we close the episode with an in-depth conversation about the New York Football Giants with Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News (50:44). Note: timecodes approximate.NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. The Around the NFL podcast. Punters are people too. Well, that's an Eisen thing. From the Chris Wesleying podcast studio. What are we doing? Yeah, what are we doing at this point? With the zombie drops.

Where are we at? Somebody suggested that one. Sounded good. You like to celebrate punters. No, I celebrate kickers. Graver was up probably on. aware of the origin of the I'm a young lad okay rich is the face of the company you know from the chris wessling podcast studio it's around the NFL Dan Hansis Greg Rosenthal Mark Sessler

Colleen wolf what's up Connie hey hey oh punters are people too but I think the other thing that's a little jarring is we just witnessed on Monday night a waking nightmare for a place kicker yeah right there was no punting drama over the weekend Right. So it's like kickers are people, too, is really what this is about. Yeah, I wish I had that drop. In essence, the opening drop didn't fit the topic of the show, various topics. It was awkward and it got us off to a weird start. Thank you, everyone involved.

Welcome to everyone listening. This actually is a show that people enjoy typically, and we're going to try to get this thing back on track here. Us included. Yes. How are you, Colleen? I'm great. I'm great. I got my club arm here.

So, it's all good. was attacked by a vicious dog over Christmas. Tank, the dog got me and still healing. But I feel like I have a club now that I can hit people with. And Colleen and I do the same thing as pointedly not asked what became a tank. I was going to ask. The logical next step is tank is not existing. I don't want to know anything about tanks whereabouts.

Perhaps for the safety of others, but also at the same time, it's something you don't want to think about. Nope. We're just happy you're here. I don't want to know. with us, yes, big show today. You know, we have a guest. The New York Giants, they are a relevant football team in the middle of January.

Sorry about that, Greg. So we're going to talk about him some more. Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News will join us. I mean, my Giants, when the chips are down, the only one who believed in him, my Giants. Your Giants? For last week. How about this week?

I picked them to win, and they didn't. I'm not picking him this week. I think I will. That was a short journey, Greg. Yeah. I mean, I think he might cover. I might take him the first. cover you know all right so we'll talk to pat about the giants and where they're at ahead of their

big showdown uh with the eagles man i got to say we kind of thread the needle on super wildcard weekend because um no big upsets but also we got entertaining football for the most part um and what we get out of it now is just a stellar divisional round week a weekend of matchup so i like that that's saucy yeah there was part of me kind of like kind of like like rooting for the dolphins to generate total chaos. But then it's like now three days later. I'm like, I'm glad that they were dismissed and taken care of.

Yeah. Right. We don't need Miami going to Kansas City in the divisional round. Well, we got a good slate of games until the last one. That was the one that had nothing to it. And there is something strange about the Monday Night Football Wildcard game. Like you've just had this like huge great meal essentially, five monster games over two days. and you're a little, even though it was like the meal was great,

you're a little stuffed for dessert. You know what? The excitement wasn't there for what that should have been. Cowboys, Tom Brady, like that was supposed to. In fairness, even before the game started and then the game was nothing. There's been two of these now. Last year, the Rams absolutely butchered the Cardinals

in a game that was over by the end of the first quarter. And it was kind of similar in this game. We're going to get to that game and the news that's been happening around the league in the last few days. In fact, why do we dive into it? Let's wrap up. Let's close the door on super wild card weekend. I'm a good boy.

I'm a good corporate boy with the Cowboys and Bucks from Tampa. You think they're pulling them offside, maybe? Maybe. Nope, they're going to run a play. Fourth and four, back to throw it out to the left all alone. Cod at the two and a walk-in touchdown for C.D. Lamb. How did you not cover the second team all pro? Great question.

Got to ask Todd Bowles about that. because C.D. Lamb did what he wanted to do. Dalton Shelton did what he wanted to do. And most of all, Dak Prescott did what he wanted to do. And I thought a career best performance, five touchdowns, no turnovers, as the Cowboys Coast passed Tom Brady

and the Buccaneers, 31 to 14. And what could be, probably not. We'll get to it. Tom Brady's final game, I'm kind of need to have huge conversations. about that after last year, but it's, it is part of the storyline coming out of this game. But of course, we start Colleen Wolf with the Dallas Cowboys. I know you're no Dallas Cowboys fan as a Philly native.

But you had to be impressed with a team that looked like it was limping into the postseason, flipped a switch and kick some butt. What a polar opposite performance from last week against Washington. Like if the Dallas Cowboys can play this way next week, they'll definitely beat the Niners. They have a great shot to do it. They looked so good. Dak was dealing. This was his best game in so long, the first time in eight games that he didn't have a turnover.

The defense was swarming. I mean, him and Dalton Schultz, like Dalton Schultz had a great game. He led the team in catches, touchdowns, yards, targets, all of it. But it just seemed like every time he and Dak connected, they were just on a different level. It felt like I was like actually saying out loud, wow, or, oh my God, did you see this? or like looking back, waiting for the replay, not just on the touchdowns, but on some of those completions, too.

Really nice completion. So, I mean, it was a slow start for Dallas to three and outs to start the game. And then finally, everything turned around. And, I mean, even Brett Maher bounced back at the end. Yeah, that's right. That fourth down touchdown we just heard was partly, maybe largely because Maher had missed those four extra points and they didn't want to send them out there for a field.

He started jogging on the field. And then Zaddy was like, no, no, no, no. We're going to have to stack the bells out here. Were you surprised that they waited so long to just go for two or to go for it instead of continually sending him out there to miss kicks? Like I don't, I was trying to decide if you're the head coach, do you, when you're up that big, do you just keep sending him out there to break it? I think that's, I think it would have been different if it was a tie game.

I agree with that. I agree with that. It was tough. And I think he's thinking about next. week. This is a guy who's played great all season, Brett Maher, and when you're up that much, you can afford to be like, well, it's one point. We'll see. Like, we shouldn't be as surprised how one-sided this was. I had the Cowboys winning because, like, they were a team that over the course of the season scored 20 more touchdowns than their opponent, whereas the Buccaneers were

like scored 10 less touchdowns than their opponent. The Buccaneers were a bad team all year, but I was on the fence of who's going to win this game. I think most people were, and You see Dak at his best, and it's just like, I said this a while ago. He reminds me of Tom Brady more than any of the young generation quarterbacks, although Dak Prescott at this point is the oldest quarterback left in the playoffs by a few years. Patrick Mahomes is next. It is crazy because he's going to win before the snap, and he's going to adjust to what you're doing before the snap if he gets a little confused early in the game like he was.

He's going to figure it out. He's just smarter than most quarterbacks in terms of being able to make decisions and decide what's going to happen. And like Tom Brady, if you give him time, like, he's just going to carve you up. And the Bucks never had a pass rush this year. They didn't have an offensive line in this game.

So both of their lines were just pathetic. And Dak Prescott was out there like cooking pizzas back there. And one of those, like, you do a play action on third down with all these fakes in the red zone where you don't expect to, like, have that much time. And he's just chilling back there for, I think that was his third touchdown. it's like if you gave Dak that amount of time he will kill you every time he's that good

yeah and I think like if you the experience of the Dallas Cowboys the experience of Dak Prescott and how they're dealt with by us by everyone like had this happen in week one we wouldn't be going back to that week one game saying remember that Dak Prescott's best game of all time it happened at the most critical mass moment

it could for Dallas and where would we be had he had those two three and outs the game the way the game started had that continued If he had his week one performance against the Bucks where he was terrible. Well, I also got injured, so that's a different narrative. But just the way that the Cowboys worked the way out of that after last week's implosion, which they were heavily criticized for rightly, I think the Dak Prescott goes into San Francisco and so does the whole team

with a completely different mindset and so much pressure off their shoulders compared to the way they went into this game. I think it was just like, will Dallas implode? Will Mike McCarthy be blamed? Because Mike McCarthy's been blamed for everything other than stuff for DAC. And I just think for Dallas to go in and absolutely destroy Tampa Bay and to lead Tampa Bay with so many questions. And I know Tom Brady, we know who he is.

He's the best of all time. He looked awful last night. He was his worst-graded PFF performance all season. It looked that way. He looks like someone who doesn't want to get hit. He had 31 incompletions. And for me, it's like, where does he go next? It's like it has to be a perfect situation for Tom Brady

because he doesn't raise all the players around him the way he did in previous seasons. Yes, I think his interception, which, again, this speaks to Tom Brady's greatness. It was his first red zone interception since he's been on the Bucks, and this was the last game of his third season. But yeah, he is a, he seems much more vulnerable these days. And I think he's one of those guys, and I think it's going to affect his decision. I think he's coming back, and we'll play some sound from Brady in a moment. But I think he could still play, but he's at the stage now where I think he really does need that great setup around him for things to work. can't like Mark said lift things. And I thought the game kind of turned in early in the game.

After they were going back and forth, three and outs, the Tampa Bay has the ball after Dallas gets their first touchdown. Mar misses his first PIT, PAT. And they go down the field, 14 place 70 yards, and Brady throws a terrible interception. And I don't know, it kind of looked like maybe he was trying to throw it out of bounds, but I don't know, whatever it was, it was one of his worst passes you'll see. Cowboys take over. They go 15. plays 80 yards and you know after a miserable go line attempt by ezek elliott who i agree by the way greg looks cooked right now um fourth down at the one yard line in a six nothing game that feels i can go either way great naked bootleg call dac waltzes into the end zone and from that point

even after another mar miss b a t they had this game under control so i i'm totally with you on that too mark like this flips the whole script for dallas they now get to go to San Francisco. Last year, San Francisco came to them in the playoffs and they were expected to win. Now they're not expected to win and they have some confidence. I think they're going to be a tough out, especially if DAC feeds off this game. I don't like it. No.

I don't like it at all. Well, at least you're not getting them. You're real nervous. I know. So for me, best case scenario, now I gave you the unbiased Cowboys take at the beginning. You tried your best. Yes. But now for the Eagles to beat the Giants and then to beat the Cowboys.

Ooh, that would be fun. To make the Super Bowl and then, you know, beat Doug Peterson and the Jacks. Like, we'll preview, like. You definitely need to get revenge on. You have blotted this out. Do you know you have an active sandwich prop that the Eagles will not win a playoff game? I don't know what was going on with you in August, but that was a fish. That is such, that's such Connie as an Eagles fan, though.

I know. I know. Like, one of the most pessimistic of your hands I've ever gone. You're covered either way. You could either get like a burrito from tacos, por favor, or the Eagles. I do like that. I love burritos. I don't...

That's a sound drop. This doesn't change my feeling... Tacos, please. That translates to the Cowboys, by the way. It doesn't change my feeling about the Cowboys moving forward because I knew they were... Really? I thought they were one of the six teams or so that could win the Super Bowl this year. And they can, like, they played like a top five offense and defense very often this year.

Not always at the same time, sometimes at the same time. But, like, their ceiling is as high as any team in the NFL. Can they do that four? straight weeks? I don't know. Can they do that against the worst team in the playoffs? They showed that they can. And I think they could do it next week too, and they might lose that game even if they do it because they're playing a

great 49ers team. But it doesn't change to me. I know it's the playoffs, and it's massive for them to get over that hump. But the Buccaneers were one of the most consistent teams in the NFL, I thought, this year. We say how the NFL is so unpredictable. This was the same team all year. Like, they

managed to have a knack for winning comeback games against awful teams and awful quarterbacks in the fourth quarter or they would have been a six and eleven team and so that's what made them more of an eight and nine team but they were a sub mediocre offense and a defense that could beat up on some bad teams but was pretty mediocre itself when it played the good team so it doesn't like change i know what you're saying it was good to see this version of them their upside is there that's what we've seen but connie and i did the power rankings podcast you'll you can check that out today. Like, I had them at six going into the wildcard round. I have them six now.

I still think those big five teams, the two teams of the NFC and the three AFC teams are ahead of them in terms of the pecking order. But when they, when that version of the Cowboys plays, it's very close. They deserve to be in that group. We know, and I, you said that this version of Dallas would destroy, I think you said the Niners or would. I didn't say destroy. I think that they could win. I mean, well, it's not like you were stronger than that, which I like. She said they win. I mean, maybe your wish casting. I mean, exactly. If he has five touchdowns and 150 pairs of rating, but to the consistency thing,

like the Niners have been, there have been a couple quarters or drives here or there, but they have been as consistent as any team out there, more so than even Philly, who's got a quarterback with a shoulder situation right now. Like, I don't trust, this, I'm with you, Greg, this doesn't change the way I feel about the Cowboys. I love seeing what they did.

I thought it answered a lot of questions about Dak Prescott. But do I think that they're going to, this is just, they play pristine from here on out, and absolutely not. The Niners, the Niners have won 11 inch. straight games. Like, they have been streaking for a very long time at this point. But now I feel like the Cowboys are at their peak.

And if they can continue, then they can ride that through the play. They do have a short a week, too, which is... I really had, like, more concerns about their defense coming into this game than their offense. So if there's one thing I do feel better about, it's that they dominated the Bucks offensive line, which really hasn't been that bad this year. And you look at the stats and it ends up only being one sack. But that's why Tom Brady looked so bad last night, is he doesn't...

You're right, he doesn't want to get hit. He freaks out after he holds it for two and a half seconds. But it was for a good reason. They won basically every snap. There was very few snaps that the Cowboys defensive line, which is what we saw early in the season, weren't winning. And Layton Vandrash's return, I thought was really big for them. He's been great for them.

I always think of Wes when old LVE is stepping up because his career trajectory has been a roller coaster, but he's played really well this season in his return. Well, Wes adored his rookie season, but then he really fell off a cliff. had a thing for a while there. Let's listen to Tom Brady. So Brady, of course, his contract was the contract is up in March. He's a free agent.

Very interesting to, again, see what his market will be. The last time this is a real thing was after his last Patriot season. And he had kind of a lukewarm market and then went to Tampa and was a monster in his first two years. It's third year, not so much. But first, how does Brady play it with the media after the season's over? This is how he ended his press conference. This was interesting in his comments to reporters there. I just want to say thank you guys for everything this year.

I really appreciate all your effort. And I know it's hard for you guys too. It's hard for us players to make it through. And you guys got a tough job. And I appreciate all that you guys do to cover us. And everyone who watches and is a big fan of the sport. We're very grateful for everyone's support. And hopefully, you know, I love this organization.

It's a great place to be. And thank you, everybody, for welcoming me. all you regulars and just very grateful for the respect and I hope I gave the same thing back to you guys so thank you very much. Appreciate it. Let's try to do some translation of athletes

speak here, Mark Sessler. I think the only thing, first of all, he gone, classy gesture. One, yes, it seemed like maybe a goodbye to the Tampa reporters. The one thing that caught me is when he said hopefully, and maybe he was going to finish sentence, like

hopefully I'll be back here, but then he stopped himself purposely kind of leaving things as murky as possible, I think he's definitely gone because first of all, I have no doubts that he essentially got Bruce Ariens shoved upstairs. I mean, he, his sticking around was contingent, I think, on Ariens leaving. Now you've got Todd Bulls coming off a bad season. I think Byron Lefwich is gone. Like, there's a lot of changes. I don't think Tom Brady after this.

I think there was a report out there that Leftwich is done. We had Scott Reynolds on the show. That was the reporter who said Leftwich will be fine. And I, like, I also heard that there was gossip that they were going to get rid of left, which during the season, too, at some point when things were going really likely. I mean, why would Tom Brady ever come back to this? He wouldn't. I think he's going to, he's going to, there's like, the Raiders are out there as an obvious

reported concept. I think in a different world, if the dolphins thought differently about Tua or Tua's health, like the dolphins kind of fit for Tom Brady, they've courted him before, it's a Shanahan-type system. But the idea that he'd go to the Niners who have two quarterbacks on rookie deals, and I'm not even sure he's even better than Brock Purdy right now, to be honest. I know it's a small sample size. It's like, I don't see that happening. I'm not sure there's a big

market for Tom Brady. Glazer threw that out there, though, and that was telling. I think it depends, too, where Sean Payton lands, like, where he might go. True, true, true. Interesting. Yeah, Sean Payton and Tom Brady to Houston. How about that? With the

Patriot's just like, you know what, I'll stay. It's actually not quite as crazy as, like, you would think. Vegas makes more sense to I thought Brady's reaction, though, on the field after the game was interesting. He was very generous, I would say, and like in a good mood to other players on the other team. I watched that whole press conference, and it wasn't like the end of the season, Brady press conference. He maybe seemed a little relieved.

There was a comment from Troy Aikman and Joe Buck, who said the people inside the buck said, over the last three weeks, he's kind of been back to being the real Brady. like the cloud and the stuff about that's off the field that even more than you guys don't know about has sort of lifted lately. And I'm not exactly sure what all that's about, but it almost seemed like he was like, okay, this is done here.

And maybe it's not the end of the world. I've been through some rough times, but let's move out. And we don't have to try to dig too deep into like behind the scenes of his life. But he did go through a divorce and now he is untethered from that standpoint. it would really surprise me

to see that the personal life go where it was and then he steps away and leaves the game. I think he's definitely back. I'd be shocked if he was back. But I guess we'll find out. He made it sound like he was going to take his time before making any announcement. Can I get the taking the time thing

because it's just then it's suddenly on us to discuss this over and over? Can we just like press a button and everyone goes where they go now? Yeah, I'm fine with that. I get it. Just every find out now. I don't think we need to have another conversation

about this until something comes out from him or his camp. Like a moratorium on... Right, because he's substantial. Unlike Derek Carr, where there's going to be updates because he can and likely will be traded, maybe even before the Super Bowl, kind of like...

Who is that? Kirk Cousins? Alex Smith, rather, a few years ago, five years ago now. There's nothing to update with Brady. He's a free agent, and he can't be franchise tag. Can I say attempt to stir excitement in me about where Derek Carr goes? I don't care.

all right um what like it's just like it's like fill in the blank average mezzanine level quarterback going to new team i love your mezzanine level right you might be talking about every single show when he's the new york jets quarterback right i know i'm kind of hoping not for dan that happens too because i don't think it's the solution everyone makes it out to me i think he would be good for the jets but i don't know why we're talking about derrick r right now we're talking about tom brady uh and we'll we'll hit the break by talking about dac prescott who ended the night at a 0.79 EPA per dropback. That is expected points added per play.

That would be good for the 11th best playoff game since 2000. That makes sense. I mean, that was about as close to a perfect game. That was from Benjamin Solek via RBSDM. Do you think some nerd had to go back and do the expected like EPOA business? Are you calling Ben a nerd? Well, no, but EPA all. Why coming after the EPA community?

I'm not at all, except that they weren't doing that in year 2000. So someone had to go back and mark and grade every single game back through history? Well, EPA is just numbers, so you can just run the numbers. I think true media does it. Oh, like on Cynthia's machine. There's no, like, PFF is grading and there's objectiveness to the, you know, subjectiveness to that. EPA is just numbers. You just press the button.

Well, it's to run it through the Greg machine. Are you, by the way, are you unblocked by Jericho? I never was blocked. Oh, good. Well, until tonight. Never even checked. Never even checked. What's your situation?

You guys got... Yeah, David Carr and Lindsay Rhodes took care of that for us. Yeah, so it's still... Broker to peace. He never went back on it, though. Did you check? Oh, I don't know.

I just went to look at Derek Carr and it said these tweets are protected. Then I realized it's actually Derek Carr QB. And, yeah, he doesn't follow me, but we're safe. We're safe. We're good. We're safe. And I do note that David Carr, he's on Twitter. He likes her tweets sometimes.

So I do try to keep that in mind if I'm going to... I saw him in the hallway and he said hi to me and I said hi to David back. I'm not, I think he's... Is he aware of these comments that you've made in this episode? I hope that he would understand that his role is perilous and if he's hoping that no one ever critiques his brother who's a pro quarterback. You'd hope that he understands his brother is a mezzanine level quarterback according to Mark Sessler.

Well, I have a show coming up with him next week. I could let him know. Yeah, let him know, please. Let's just keep this afloat. Let's take a break and we will hit the news. all right welcome back uh we got the final wild card game out of the way uh here is the schedule by the way saturday jacksville jaguars at chiefs 430 uh giants at eagles 815 on saturday night sunday bengals at bills three o'clock eastern yeah that's great and uh the nightcap of

divisional round weekend, the best round of playoffs in the NFL. Cowboys at Niners, 6.30 p.m. Eastern. Hamana, homina, homina. Wait, so you watch the Eagles in the hotel? Are you going to go to like a Buffalo bar? I don't know. I haven't figured it out yet. Kyle is going to be out there. You're going to go to a Buffalo bar, I think.

I don't know anyone in Buffalo. Oh, you will by the time that night ends. I'm just going to go to, I'm just going to post up at Anchor Bar, I guess. Yeah, yeah. But are you going to be decked out in Philly gear, and Eagles gear? How do you play that? They don't mind there. There's no cross-pollination.

All right, let's do some news. Oh, my God. You've got to be kidding me. I've never seen anything like it. Why are we kicking it? Why are we kicking it? What is going? He can't believe.

Talk about a buzz kill. No one's ever missed three extra points in a row. You've got a guy at halftime of a playoff game? It's got to be a record. Payton is so brutal. The kickers. as Mike Vanderjack could attest to. That's Eli and Peyton on the Manning cast last night.

And that was after the third Mar miss, he missed four. Which was a record. He was the first. He wasn't the first to miss three. He was the first to miss four. I'm so glad he made that kick. I know. I don't understand.

I don't know how you. We would cost some four points if you really want to put it in perspective. Like, is he their kicker this weekend? Like, are you really going to roll into the divisional round playoffs against the Niners after that happened? I don't think you. can. Do you bring in a brand new kicker? That feels even worse. I honestly think you have to. And he, I put out the kicker power rankings last night, postponed, got it out there. Don't worry. I saw. I saw. And Mark came in 10th

because he had a big time year. So I understand. Before the game or after the game? Midgame. I did note. I did know it was based on the regular season only. Okay. Okay. Um, I got to say that's good during the regular season. He was great during the work. If you're doing NFL now hit on the kicker power rankings, they're like, all right, and I hadn't seen that Marr has dropped 18 spots this week to 28. You don't even have it on a team. I would keep them.

I mean, there's overall body of work. Yeah, but what happens when he misses his first kick in the first quarter? I think that, like, you know, that was such a wessism that kickers mentally become so derailed. And we've seen it with so many of them. But I don't know what the better option is right now with the guys out of the street.

I know nobody, it's weird. I've talked about this before. Like, for a position that's so valuable, they never, teams never leave themselves any safety net. there's no backup. No, it's like a cornerback that kicked in high school or something. If they do tryouts, like the 35th best kicker available is it great, but there's like a 50% chance he'll be about the same as Maher.

But the Yips and it's all sports, but kicker is really in football, obviously, the most obvious case of Yips, that's where it comes from. Like when that happens, I mean, it was hard to watch. Like from a human standpoint, You felt so badly for the guy.

Except for Peyton, man. Well, Peyton doesn't care. Ruthless. He has no heart. Although he cares about the game. I flipped it in the third quarter just because the game was so bad and they had Dan Campbell on and I watched that part like the third quarter. They're so in like they're living and dying at 24 nothing about a bad play that the bucks made.

And I'm just like I love that they're. What else are they going to do? I know. I mean, they're getting paid to be into the game. Yeah, but like. I don't doubt that they aren't organically. I think he just seems like. like hurt when like a safety makes a big mistake or a quarterback makes a big

in a way that like most announcers are not that into the game not that so would you cut him would you cut I would I would have to I mean they know him as well I would think you would have to take a look at him in practice and see what happens but it's so either way you could keep him on the team put him on like the inactive list and sign another kicker it's a shame that you can't bring in a kicker day of without letting him know that this has been done behind the scenes it's a huge role that I feel like that's a huge mind game too. I mean, everything kind of is on the backburner.

Jason Peters also got hurt in that game, which is causing their line to be shuffled again. But I think that is the biggest thing that's hanging over this team. And it's a shame because everything else was beautiful for Dallas in that game. I can't all be great. You love it. By the way, Eli said during the Manningcast that he promised and he vowed to himself that he would never go back to the terrible city of Philadelphia.

His words, I'm paraphrasing. after he retired from football, but he said he will be going to the playoff game and he's expecting a record amount of double birds. The reception is going to be great for him. I can't wait. All right. The reception for Sean Peyton is saucy

across the football landscape. The former Saints coach is hot and in demand. Peyton was on the herd with Colin Cowherd. Did I say that right? And Howard, he was setting to meet, wait, what is it? Colin Coward. Like Coward? I don't think he would even produce a Cowher.

They put you on that path by calling up the Her. They do. They absolutely do. But it's Colin Coward, basically. You want to do a take two? The Hurd with Colin Cowherd. Did I get it that time? That's fine.

Anyway, Peyton said he was going to meet with the Texans, the Broncos, the Panthers. ESPN's Adam Schefter said the Broncos interview will take place Tuesday in L.A. The Panthers meeting is set for Friday. And Gregi, they completed an interview with Peyton on Monday, and he added Peyton, I don't know, he's very open about this in the public, that he absolutely would take the Texan's job. I appreciated, like, him being on and the fact that this is an unprecedented story. But I don't love the idea, and I've seen this. that like, oh, he's being so honest, like, and so open and transparent.

It's like, no, everything he's saying is incredibly calculated, and a lot of it is holding the Saints over a barrel. Like, he is essentially doing these interviews to send messages to the teams he's talking to, including the Texans. He mentioned David Tepper by name multiple time and really sounded pretty intrigued by the Panthers. No, he did. Like, if you just listen to that, you would think he liked the Panthers job the best. But I also think that might be related to, like, driving the price up because they're the division rival of the Saints.

But he also threw out the draft compensation, which is like boxing Mickey Loomis into a corner. And then he's also saying that, hey, the price is going to go down a lot next year if I don't pick a team this year in terms of draft compensation. So that's something you got to keep in mind. He's an analyst now as well. So what he's doing is saying Mickey, don't F me here. And this is a guy that was supposed to be like a friend of his and the Saints. And I think it's all fascinating. I'm not saying anyone's like right or wrong, but it's certainly unprecedented.

And I really thought it was funny him talking about the AFC South and like that he likes the Texan's job. I think in part because Bill Barsely used to like, you know, you take the team at the bottom and then you're the hero when they go up. And I can be the boss here in Houston. And I think he also looks at the AFC South and he thinks it's trash. They're in a division that you can at least look at and say, all right, indeed Tennessee, Jacksonville is nothing. But you can at least, all right, how do we? You can actually see the smoke coming out of his ears. Their two or three wins that they had this year.

The gears are turning like, oh, I need to pivot out of this point that I was making that the whole division sucks. He stalled out twice on that drive. That's good. You know what, Greg, I see, and you love this stuff. It's all the game within the game. I mean, he's playing the game. He is the, I don't play chess, but let's say whatever.

He's like the kingmaker here. He gets the opportunity to dictate how this plays out. The Saints, they have to be passive and see how it plays out themselves. But it's Peyton because of his standing in the league that is going to be able to dictate how this goes. And, you know, he's playing the game and he knows how to play. He's a savvy guy. He's not going to go somewhere. I don't think that doesn't have a set quarterback situation or capital.

Right. To get one. Well, all three of these don't. Yeah. He keeps saying the quarterback doesn't matter. It's about ownership. and the structure that we didn't have a quarterback when they got to New Orleans.

He did talk about the fact that the Saints and Texans had multiple years where they practiced in the preseason against each other in scrimmage and he went out of his way to like compliment the Cal McNair family in Houston which surprised me because I think of that as one of the lower tiered ownership situations out there but in terms of getting a quarterback

in terms of having a ton of draft picks for years to come and a roster that has some good young players on it as well. I kind of think the Texans make more sense than anyone else chasing. The Broncos make zero sense to me on any level. You're saddled with a quarterback who maybe can't play anymore. I mean, everything we saw this year says is that Carolina, I guess David Tepper like completely won over Matt Rule and those two mind-melded when they met and then it went apart. And like David Tepper's not been able to get the quarterback he wants veteran-wise year after year. I don't, they have no, where's their quarterback coming from? They keep hearing and Sean

Peyton said so, that they'll get like a mid to late round draft pick. So it wouldn't be like the number two overall pick. So you go to the Texans, you can take a quarterback number two and away you go. I think you're completely set in Houston. In other Sean News, Sean McVeigh, he ain't ready to leave the sidelines in Los Angeles. NFL Network Insiders Ian Rappport and Mike Garfur reported on Friday the McVe intends to return as the Rams coach after taking a few days to consider his future, the team. announce the news. McVeigh is figuring out his coaching staff, but after a five and 12 season

where it looked very much like he was headed out the door mark. He instead is coming on back. Yeah, again, I don't know why we needed to have all the reporting and the drama around it. I mean, it's just how this thing works at this point. I always thought Sean McMabey was not into the concept of a Rams team that was flatlining and needed to rebuild. And I thought maybe Matthew Stafford would have a similar viewpoint. They're both coming back, but there's a lot of work you need to do on the Rams, I think. It starts with a Bengals-esque off-season rebuilding of your line. Because what's fixed there?

What's different? I mean, they're top-heavy. You have no draft picks. I think the future is bleak if you don't find a way to continue to trade for players and mortgage the future even further down the road. What happened in those couple days? Because he talked to the media on Monday. You said you don't like the process, but it only is happening because Sean McVeate,

is talking about it. So why does he need to tell us all this when he did? But then they were like, okay, he's going to go away for two weeks. The next two weeks are crucial. He spoke on Monday. He sounded very tired. By Wednesday, we heard it's coming by the end of the week. And it happened on Thursday.

So it's like, it's not like he got away. He probably just didn't want to hear about it anymore. He already knew his answer. So he wanted to like shut everyone up about it. Yeah, but he's the only reason we're talking about it. We don't talk about this with any other coach. It's because he's, I think he's an open guy with. a lot of people and he just was expressing ambivalence.

I always thought like this story and some of the reporting around the story was always a little bit weird and that's like and I took some fire on this in social media. Like when I mentioned that he mentioned the war in Ukraine and his wife, obviously that's a way more serious situation than anything that's going on in the NFL. And I just was a little bit drawn, taken aback by that being involved and mentioned with the other very normal football things that he was. was facing at that time. And I wondered, I wondered the sincerity of the entire plot line that was unfurling, whether

this was something he was really struggling with or whether he was looking for a way out. The fact that he's coming back tells me, it makes me think, okay, I think maybe this is a more sincere thing and it was something he struggled with and now, and now he's back. So that's kind of my thoughts on it and where I, where I've been coming to. The story in general, the fact that ends up right back where he was surprises me. I almost think he's so open and honest and the fact that he hasn't been in this situation before

while he's been coaching just on a team that has struggled this much. He's probably getting a totally different line of questioning at this point too. So it's just kind of uncharted territory for him and probably an area that he's learned from maybe to not be as open in the future. He was, but he's being open like off the record. It's an interesting like capital J. J. Jerno question. It was like when the primary source is not. always like a reliable source like I believe everything that happened the whole time that he that all

this was happening in his head because he didn't know he's just like going through all this and he's speaking about it openly and he told someone like Sean Peyton for instance right is very calculated I don't think he's being honest so it's like which which you are I don't really know and then part of the story that was like hey go hey coaching staff like go uh go look for other jobs it's cool and then like two days later he's back that's interesting I mean maybe he's just trying to fire everyone. I don't know. The thing is there could be seven coaches.

There could be seven coaches going through the same taxing end-of-year process where the losing and the time and you're probably separated from your family so much. It's unhealthy. Like I did this one article at one time, but the coaches that go away for a year. Was it a long-for? It was a long-for. Bring them back. Oh, my God.

Can I find that soon? No, just go read that one. How about that? But all their health across the board completely changes. Like, they still are with team doctors. Like, everything about their physical body improves. They go away and they watch football from a global bird's-eye view. And like Mike McCarthy went through that, you know, epiphany or whatever it was,

which I didn't buy at the time. But Mike McCarthy, the one we're getting today is a completely... He got the PFF subscription or whatever. No, I don't know. It's a Tom Pelliserro long form on him. There should be a built-in sabbatical for everyone that works at the NFL. Yes. That's sort of what I'm getting to.

All right. Maybe this is the next Cessler long form. Here's a theory. I'll just throw it out here. I just thought of it. McVeigh is younger. He's in Colleen, age brown. It firmly in the millennial category.

Maybe the millennials, you know, that's part of like you're more open about your feelings. You're a little more out there than Bill Parcells was 30 years ago where you don't share anything about your inner thought process. You just, you know, disappear from one job, reappear a couple years later. I think maybe the- Feels unhealthy. Yeah. And then get like trash talk by Mike Westoff when you join the around the NFL podcast like 25 years later. We're a generation of open people now. I love that.

Things have changed on that front. Do you have any other big millennial takes you want to share? You know what? I'll let you prepare for that. That's going to be an off-season show, Connie the Millennial. I also had an – I wrote this down. I forgot to mention. Picture it on a – like a cloth napkin, like a fancy restaurant.

And then in red lipstick, like scrawled pigskin gossip with Mark Sessler. I mean, I would adore that segment. I don't know where the lips. I like that on a cocktail napkin. Yeah, that's it. That's it. That's it. Next to a cocktail. Just workshopping it. Because you mentioned gossip later.

Usually it's more like reports and you went gossip and I thought, ooh, there's something there. Oh, with some chatter that I heard. Yeah. Okay. In other news, another Sean in the coach of ranks know. His name is Jim. Jim Harbaugh to remain as head coach of the University of Michigan.

Two weeks ago, he said he expected to remain with the Wolverines. And now he's, well, this is good. Eric Edholm Every year? This is just another third version of this tedious But I like it that they had to have a big announcement

that like said he's staying which is basically an announcement that like everything he had been saying the last week or two actually was meaningless and lies but this time it is for real Yeah Eric Ed Holm who does really good stuff for us he's the lead draft writer for NFL.com

wrote the article on it and in the lead he says that he stuck to his word Harbaugh did even with a few NFL franchise expressing interest and prying him away. That wasn't kind of the reporting that we heard out of Charlotte with the Panthers where it was almost a courtesy interview we got.

However, the 59-year-old was believed to be one of the Broncos prime candidates for their head coaching job. He also has tied, he had ties to other jobs, including the cults. But in the end, don't you get the feeling, Gregie? And I think you do, because I think you already made comments about it,

that if a team really wanted Harbaugh, he would be back by now. Oh, absolutely. He just didn't get a job. He was one of the people in the mix for the Broncos job. He couldn't close it quickly or anything. I don't think they were giving him any signs that he was like going to get that job. They said, we're going to have a process for another couple weeks.

And like, so he tried to get a job. No, he didn't want to lose out to Sean Payton. No, I wonder how he interviews because he, I thought he, like, I liked covering him back in the day because he's one of the more bizarre guys up on the podium you'll find. And like these coaching interviews, which we never are privy to, like maybe if he's already got this great high-paying job that they want him around for the next. decade plus like do you do you do you ultra prep for that and you just roll in saying like I'm Jim Harbaugh yeah and that might not be enough

and that's been a while that's been a while since he's been an NFL coach now the one thing I thought that was kind of interesting about the statement that was released it was the Michigan president that put it out saying that Jim shared with me the great news that he's going to remain as the head coach of the Wolverines blah blah blah this is fantastic news that I have communicated to our athletic director oh good ward manual yes and there are a lot of of people who are like, well, wait a second, why are you breaking the news? Why are you telling

the athletic director, shouldn't the athletic director be in the mix on this? So I don't know. Around the big 10. In other news, offensive coordinators out the door. Chargers have fired Joe Lombardi. Lombardi, listen, heads are going to roll. When you blow a 27-0-0 lead in a playoff game, heads are going to roll. And I think Jim Trotter nailed it. And his speculation reporting on Twitter a couple days ago, everything about this franchise and pointed to them keeping Brandon Staley, who's under contract for multiple years and bringing him back after a 10-win season. But somebody's got to go. So it is the offensive coordinator. And the same thing happened. And we haven't hit this. So I'll connect these two stories. The Jets collapsed down the stretch. Ownership didn't want to make a change at head coach. But somebody's got to go. Someone's got to pay for it. So Mike LaFleur, their offense coordinator, gets fired. So two OCs out the door and both of those AFC teams looking for one. I see them as different situations because I think there's connective tissue with Joe Lombardi,

deemphasizing the magic of Justin Herbert all season long. It's like this wasn't just about this one game, yet you're right that you've got to find a scapegoat for what happened. And they did. Mike LaFleur got saddled with a totally failed draft pick, Joe Flacco, and, and hot and cold Mike White. It's like it's a tougher situation. I'd like to see, like we do this with quarterbacks and coach. Give me Mike LaFleur

with Justin Herbert and I think you're getting a different offensive coordinator. The Herbert heads would be excited. I'd be excited. They have a stat on PFF called Perfectly Covered Plays where basically every player in coverage, you know, doesn't make a mistake. And the Bucks and the Chargers of all the playoff teams this

weekend almost doubled every other offense out there, which tracks, when you watch it, when you watch discharges off. They could also use someone that like doesn't, you know, run a 5.040. Like that is the slowest group of receivers when Mike Williams is not on the field. And even Mike Williams isn't like a burner. Yeah.

Go ahead. Justin Herbert, it's just this second season for him. I was listening to your, the last show that you guys had. What was that? Was that the recap show? Yeah. And you were talking about. Thank you.

And about Justin Herbert, if you're going to take one of those two quarterbacks that were on the field. to move on with, you would have taken Trevor Lawrence because he just looked like a more dominant player, a more dominant quarterback. And I feel like we've seen Justin Herbert take like a step back as numbers regressed as well this season. So if Brandon Staley's not going to go,

then obviously the offensive coordinator has to. Yeah. And I'm kind of with you guys on LaFleur with the Jets. Maybe you give him Derek Carr or Lamar Jackson and give him another chance. But I think not that the Washington Post had it right about the head coach, but I think Woody Johnson, their owner was like,

was putting his beacon a little bit and was like, hey, something's got to change here. And Salah made the decision. I'm not going to walk the plank. So Mike does my buddy. The way Salah talked, it sounded like he didn't make a decision, which is another sign of a dysfunctional organization. I'll stop trying to spin it.

I mean, I've already tried it before the end of the regular. No, spinning. Like, you obviously aren't happy with how, like, the Jets' ownership has handled things. Like, let Sala be a head coach. I'm just saying, you, I think, I think maybe it's subconscious. You want the Jets to be dysfunctional still. I don't think right now. I don't think it's a dysfunctional organization right now.

I think the owner making a coach fire a guy he didn't want to fire. Based on, yeah, based on Salas comments and watching the league. Just like you wanted him to fight. fire the head coach. Yeah, but do you think that... And the people covering the jets are all saying the exact same thing. Do you not think, though, that probably Brandon Staley was put into the same position? These coaches are loyal to their assistance.

Maybe, maybe. Joe Lombardi wasn't like a... Lombardi, to me, was going to be fired, I think, barring like a Super Bowl. I think that was an appropriate move-on situation. I just not sure that Staley came up with the concept of self. And I'm not defending Woody Johnson. And I, for at all, but let's not act like ownership. They own the team.

team, I think there are a lot of teams, successful ones too, where they have a voice. I mean, look at Robert Kraft. It doesn't mean it's necessarily dysfunctional. Let's see what happens. I just, I'm trusting Robert Salas' judgment. Oh, you had a conversation with them? What else do you say? Wow.

Wow. I just sit back and listen when this happens. Does Michael Flora end up with Shaw McHae? You haven't been this bad since I said that like hiring gays after McCagnin or whatever was like dysfunctional. You could see that. That bounced right off. Nice try.

LaFloor and Sean McPaghan. We're going to have another conversation over here. Cardinals hired Titans executive Monty Osson Fort as general manager. I think the most notable thing about him is he looks like a cross between Steve Kime and Nick Shook. All right. Let me dial in on this. Anybody else have any other takes? A young, uh...

Look, you can even see the headshot is Shook with Asen Fort in the NFL. It kind of like a young Kime when Kime was hired. So he's basically a replacement. Just kind of see his hand. right now. Another freaking Patriots offshoot, who was in Tennessee for a long time, and that's

where he kind of made his name more, but all he talked about was Kraft and Belichick and it makes you think about Brian Flores, maybe as a potential candidate. Marks. Oh, Peytiger chimes. What's up, buddy? I just wanted to comment

on if you guys saw this. It just happened pretty recently. One of his first comments in the press conference was, Ego will not be tolerated in this organization. Is that a Kyla Murray sub-tweet or what is going on there? Craver, you go

organization? Organization. What's the other way? What's Canada like? Organization. An organization. Organization to me sounds like I'm organizing my desk. Also, what is the team based out of Jacksonville?

The Jaguars. Jaguars. I don't get that either. I got got for that for a little bit. I think maybe Yessica's accent is having some influence. Is it a Yessica situation? No, I would never blame her for anything. Hey, is Jessica going to join us at the live show from the Bourbon Room tomorrow night, Wednesday in Hollywood?

We'll be there. Yes, you will. Yeah. I thought that. That'll be fun. That's cool. Good for you. I feel uncomfortable.

Why? What makes you feel uncomfortable? I don't know. The Browns, Sessie, the Browns are hiring Jim Schwartz as their new defensive coordinator, Jimmy Schwartz, the former Detroit Lions head coach who has also won a ring with Connie's Philadelphia Eagles. That's right. As D.C. He's been successful in his career.

And now he replaces. Joe Woods, the embattled Joe Woods. I think it's a great hire. Nice. The one thing that kind of would concern me is that you're hiring someone that might be seen more of a head coach than your actual head coach if things go off the rails early next season.

Got him. Well, it's nice to connect the current Browns with Mark's favorite iteration of the Brown. Maybe not favorite. The Bill Belichick Browns and Jim Short. Yeah, he was, that's true. He's coming back to his roots. It's coming back to his roots.

In Cleveland. How about a little Belichick letters? the Mark Sessler Longford Again, it's already been written You can go read that If it's still available on our website Is it still available on our website? That would be the question

Mark, you know I'm in ideas, man How about the Schwartz letters? The Schwartz letters 49-year-old man writes letters to a 56-year-old football coach I think that's a little strange The Schwall's letters He would not write me back

And if he'd be email, it wouldn't have It'd be a whole different thing We'd be texting to each other And the weird thing about that story You know what the weird thing about that segment would be and that show on our network we're launching? That's also on lipstick on a cocktail map. Well, you know, there's a lot to unpack there.

A martini glass is just taken away to reveal the message. All right. And finally, the beacon of functionality, the New England Patriots, they're looking for an offensive coordinator. Bill O'Brien, old Billy O.B., the top target. You like that? I would like that. I thought it was interesting.

they like release the statement saying we're trying to keep gerard mayo we're going to have interviews for offensive coordinators it was a level of transparency and a sign that like craft is trying to do some public outreach after noticing some of those empty seats at the end of the season you know bill bellichick the only coach he ever hired that he hadn't worked with before because this is bill o'brien you're just playing the hits if you bring back on bill o'brien but i don't know what's going on like this but greg shiana was the only one and he didn't even know to the season. I nearly fell out of my chair. Did not get a lot of sleep last night. The voice is in and out. Yeah. The rain stopped. The rain stopped.

It's like it was nice when it was rain in L.A. Dasher was barking nonstop at like 1230. I could hear that. Very weird. Interesting. There you go. That's what's happening in the news. All right.

We'll be right back. And then Pat Leonard of the Daily News talks about the Jeeba. Be right back. During the week, nobody tells it like the Daily News. Hard driving. Fast-paced. Provocative. Up-to-date.

The news you need. But Sunday, it's City Lights. TV week, two magazines, comics and coupons, gossip and sports. What you need, what you want, the Daily News. ah yes the new york daily news new york's hometown paper and now joining us from the daily news it is a man who's covered the new york giants for seven years now and it probably hasn't always been the most glorious gig but it doesn't feel uh that way anymore it is pat leonard uh pat welcome to around the NFL and welcome to relevant january football and the new york giants dan thank you

Thank you, fellas, for having me on. It's been a while, as you know. And it's fun to watch competent winning football and roster construction, frankly, even on the back end, you're looking at them and you're like, wow, not only is this a real NFL team again, but they might be able to build something sustainable down the road. Yeah, we were talking before we went on live here that, you know, in the ATN era, which we're naval gazers by our nature, we start in 2013.

other than like some endless Eli Manning, is he good, is he bad? Will he retire? Will he get benched conversation? The Giants have kind of been on the back burner and as fans are annoyed as well. I'm as a Jets fan. So there's always plenty of Jets talk.

Maybe not as much Giants talk. So here we are now. And after that big win this weekend against the Vikings, you know, it's going to be really interesting, isn't it, Pat, to see how they react now against an Eagles team. The last time we saw them,

Week 15, we don't really count the week 18 game. Come on. It was 4822 with Jalen Hertz, as you wrote in your column this week, staying into that game late into the game. Did that rub the Giants the wrong way, the way the Eagles handled that game at MetLife? Yeah, they noticed it. They hate the Eagles. And I know that rivalries are a well-known thing when we talk about NFL and division matchups, but this one's nasty. And the Eagles have gotten the better of the Giants in every which way. Like when the Giants beat the Eagles finally, like they've lost 11 of the last 13 in this series. They haven't won at Lincoln Financial Field since 2013, I think. Five field goals from Josh Brown that day, by the way.

And yeah, exactly. And when they beat them with Joe Judge as head coach, I mean, the amount of not vitriol, but emotion behind the scenes, just finally getting the Eagles back. But it obviously hasn't been enough. The Eagles have won a Super Bowl more recently than the Giants, even though they have, four. And they have just owned this head-to-head series. They pants the Giants front office a couple years ago in the draft, trading over them to draft Devante Smith, who the Giants were eyeing there in that draft. Obviously, they end up trading back in Cadarius Tony and a first

rounder that becomes Evan Neal. We'll see where that goes. But just, you know, then we had the Nate Sudfeld coming in and keeping the Giants out of the playoffs. So there is so much on the Giants' minds going into this game from an organizational standpoint, from an ownership standpoint, from a front office standpoint, the players are going to play the game. But when you look at that 4822 blowout and the fact that Hertz played so deep into it and they were throwing the ball late, running big plays and gashing the Giants defense, yeah, they noticed and they'll remember it. I just wonder how they match up physically with them because, like, yeah, you're upset that

the Eagles are pouring it on, but it's because they got bullied. And that felt like a bit of a turning point. The Eagle season wasn't quite as pristine after that. And certainly, I've come around. I thought the Giants were very lucky for most of the season. And I think they've played their best football the last three or four weeks. But how do you just think they match up physically? Because that's where the Eagles, to me, separate themselves up front on the offensive line and the defensive line.

No, Greg, I think you're absolutely right. You look at the Vikings, right? Kevin O'Connell did a lot of good things as a coach, but one thing he did to play into the Giants' hands was he didn't run the ball on third and fourth and short. Kept spreading it five wide, and that plays into Wink Martindale's hands. He can scheme up pressures. The Giants were giving up four, eight, 11, seven yards rushing to cook on these carries. You look at the Philadelphia Eagles. If the Giants don't stop the run, guess what the Eagles are going to do. They're going to keep running the ball and knock them back and they're not going to stop.

You know, Jalen Hertz, Miles Sanders, Boston Scott, the Giants killer. that matchup for the Giants is not in their favor. And I will say this, too, after that 48-22 game, I've been covering this team, this is my seventh season. They've been bad for a while. But I have never heard a Giants team admit so readily and honestly after a game that they were clearly inferior to their opponent than after that game. And it was so strange to me at the time because even though they were just being honest

and they were correct, you're looking at the standings and you're saying they could meet that, they're meeting them again in week 18. They can meet them in the playoffs. And here's Daniel Jones saying flat out, this was proof that we're not where we need to be yet. So can the Giants finally and suddenly get to where they need to be to beat that same Eagles team that just demolished them and MetLife Stadium in a month? I mean, there's a reason this game is a seven-point spread, even though the Giants obviously put a lot of good football on the field, Minnesota. You know, like Dan and I grew up right around Giants country, watching the Giants. And, I I mean, we go back to, like, the Bill Parcells days, where Giants Eagles was a legitimate rivalry.

And you know how it is when a team stings up the joint for a decade plus? These rivalries, you can call them that, but they melt away. And I would just ask this, because I think this is such a huge moment for Danny Dimes. Like, what we saw on the last game and the way he's developed, if he were ever to go and out-dual Jalen Hertz and the Eagles, suddenly everything we think about him and everything that we think and thought about the Giants, completely transforms. And I just wonder, is like, has this Daniel Jones, do you think in the last couple seasons been there all along? It's just that Brian Dayball came in. And, you know, I don't know what a quarterback whisper really is. We throw that term around. But is this a Brian Dayball effect?

Or is Daniel Jones finally surrounded by healthy players. He himself is healthy. But I see a different player in the last couple months than in years past, a completely transformed quarterback. Yeah. Well said. I do think it's both. I think the coaching is the biggest change. And certainly I know for a fact that previous staffs, or particularly when Jason Garrett was the offensive coordinator, you know, the Giants were coming off really the main goal was to stop turning the ball over for Daniel Jones. And so combined with what Garrett already is known for offensively, there was a huge focus on protecting Daniel from himself. And so if you're doing that with a quarterback, you're never going to fully unleash him. And also, whether you're doing it overtly

or not, it's going to seep in that you don't have full confidence in his decision making and his ability to push the ball down the field. So I think chicken in the egg there was some of those things, but it kind of breeded a lot of, you know, even if he was not turning the ball over in games, they were low scoring and there was a low margin for error. I will say this, Dayball and Mike Kafka and Joe Shane, when they came in, they didn't profess a ton of confidence in Daniel Jones coming in. And so even from the inside, they put pressure, I felt, on him to kind of show them. And at the start of the year, if you look at tape of their first couple games and tape of their recent games, this has been an evolution of him earning their trust.

And so the other side of it is Daniel's dual threat skills have been there. We know that he can run. But as he made the plays and protected the ball while making them early in the year in targeted spots. Dable and Kafka slowly pushed a little bit more onto his plate, a little bit more onto his plate to the point where you're watching games like that Colts blowout, where Daniel's running ability is the center point of the offense or in Minnesota where it's his running and it's his arm.

And let's just face it, guys, forever now, especially since they drafted Barclay. They have been a team that we need to run the ball with Saquan and supplement it with Daniel. But you watch these last two games Jones has played against the Colts and the Vikings. And this is now a quarterback-centric offense that has Saquan Barclay. And that's something I'll be writing about this week and talking to Brian Daibald about is to be the maximum best offense you can in the NFL. Your quarterback has to be your best player. And I think what we've seen recently is the coaching has brought out the best in what was already there with Jones to the point where he is now that. And, you know, the proof was right there in the transaction wire with the Giants entering this season when they declined to pick up the fifth year option on Jones's contract.

And now he's obviously taking this big step forward. I'm curious, like, what your vibe is around the team, like how much in your mind is riding on what occurs on Saturday night or perhaps beyond for Daniel Jones? Or do you think this is a situation now where this team is going to roll forward and give him? him a contract and to make him their guy going forward. Do you think he's already now shown enough where they're locked in on Jones for as a long-term answer there? I do. I think, I mean, he definitely even, let's say a month or two prior already had earned that he was going to be their quarterback next year. But of course, that could have been a franchise tag, transition tag. And even entering the playoffs, I think it was still trending towards and it still could be a situation where they start with a tag on Jones to protect the asset. And then they,

go from there based on how the negotiations go while probably trying to sign Barclay to a sensible multi-year deal. But I thought that game in Minnesota was a flashpoint. And I'll just tell you this. I mean, you guys know this, but Joe Shane, he comes in and he's got a much more unemotional vantage point and removed sense of evaluation for a guy like Daniel Jones compared to Dave Gettleman who was here before and drafted him and this and that. So if he were just Shane making the decision, it might be still more calculated cut and dry. Giant's ownership was already in love with Daniel. I mean, the way that they were pounding their chests and shouting from the rooftops after this Vikings game about Daniel, about their organization being turned

around, even if you removed all physical checkbooks from the offices of Steve Tisch and John Mara, I think they'd find some way to wire the money to Jones's agents and get it done. I'm working right now on what the deal will look like because going into the Vikings game, I talked to some smart people around the league who are very plugged into this not only Jones's conversations, but also quarterback market and value. And they felt that if a long-term deal happened, it might look something like a three-year, $100 million deal with anywhere from $60 to $75 million guaranteed. So that would be like 33 and a half a year.

But that's still below like the $35 million of Kirk Cousins. You look at what Jones just put on the field against the Vikings. Is he not worth more than Kyler-Merry? Is he not worth more up to the- Yes, he's not worth more than Kyler-Murie to answer your question. That's my answer. Well, who has more playoff wins? I think those comp- Exactly.

I think those comps will be talked about behind closed doors, though, though, Greg, I can't say I completely disagree with your answer. I think to the average owner, the average person paying this money, he is worth a lot less because you have four years of play. Now, every quarterback ends up getting paid, so I think he'll get paid, and his value is so much more now than it was two months ago. And I think it's worth more right now

than anyone else that's going to be available this offseason, which is maybe the most important. Like, it's more than Gino. I think it's more than Tom Brady. Like, ultimately, it's more than the Jimmy G's and everything of the world. So they're going to have to tag him at worst. Does he like, does Daniel Jones give you anything kind of behind the scenes? Because he just seems like he doesn't want to give like the media or anyone anything.

So largely he does not. A year plus ago. So I think it was prior to the 2021 season. Going into that offseason, I had the same thought you did of, okay, this guy puts up a good front. But who is he really? Because I had had enough conversations with teammates and coaches and family members and people behind the scenes, you know, you're not seeing the real Daniel. There's so much more to him. And I'm saying, well, prove it. And I wanted to go to one of his workouts down in North Carolina

and just spend a day with him and try to get behind the curtain. He suggested, why don't we go to dinner when I come back? I said, fine. And we sat down in Hoboken for a few hours at a steakhouse. And I was able to do a story off of that in the daily news. And what Daniel wanted to stressed to me at that dinner was what did he get by the way what did you order he he ordered uh he just ordered a new york strip he did not he wasn't big on the sides i remember i'll never forget he said he doesn't like mac and cheese that always stuck with me i'm thinking everybody likes mac and cheese what do you talk about i'll wait a minute i've also only eaten mac and cheese once in my life so daniel jones and i have something there's a link between us wow you're you're a vegetarian yeah he didn't

drink. He didn't drink. I ordered a drink. He didn't. You know, so it kind of put me on the defensive a little bit. That's the first time we went out with Greg Rosenthal when he came to the NFL, Pat, and it was me, Mark, and Greg, we were trying to feel this guy out, and he didn't get a drink either. And it put us on our heels. We didn't know what to think of it either. Ever since. Exactly. You kind of blink a couple times. No, so his message to me, though, that night was I got to know him a little bit better. You know, he likes basketball, you know, values his close friends and family, but he wanted to let me know that everything he does is in the best interest of what he thinks helps the team the most. And it was kind of his way of saying, so in other words,

he still didn't fully open up to me, but he was trying to stress to me that, listen, I do everything I do for a reason. So if you think that I'm not helping you or I'm not giving a lot or I don't answer a question maybe the way you would expect or you would like, it's all based on what I think is going to be best for the Giants. And so he's hyper aware of the position he is in and how visible he is. And the most interesting thing to me that night was he's tall, so people notice him, but not until we were walking out of the restaurant. Did I hear somebody say, oh, there's Daniel Jones?

So he was able to kind of slip in and out fairly undetected. I think that's going to stop. The Derek Jeter mode of New York Media Management, Mark, what do you got? Well, I just, I wanted to know, you know, we have had Kvon Tibido on the show a number of times. It got to the point where we thought we had a friendship with him. I'm not sure after our last interview with him that we would claim that necessarily.

Didn't go so well. No, I asked him if Brian Daibel, if he thought, you know, getting to know Brian Daibble, whether he was a big spoon or a small spoon in his private life, he didn't want to answer that. I will ask you a Brian Daibald question in a different way. What makes him special? because it feels like the Dayball arrival has changed everything for the Giants. You've gotten to know them better than we have behind the scenes.

What makes them unique or special? The players say that Daibol lets them all be themselves and that he lets the captains and the leadership of the locker room kind of police the team and that they appreciate that versus other places they've been. The caution to that management style is it creates some looseness, to how you're managing things at times. And so Xavier McKinney goes to, you know, Cabo and Spring Break and busts up his hand, you know, things like that. Maybe you don't happen if the ship is tighter and you're kind of looking over guys' shoulders more.

But in the long run, when you've been in an environment where guys have the weight of the world on their shoulders and all the conversation is about how the offensive line stinks and the quarterbacks on his way out and all this stuff, They really have felt that dable's been a breath of fresh air. He gives a lot of people a voice. He's collaborative. One thing that happened at the end of the Judge Gettleman regime was, you know, they did not see eye to eye. And Judge ended up trying to take everything on himself. He basically stopped delegating. And so that was something that was obviously a byproduct of poor decisions made all the way up to that. But what's happening now is now that Shane and Dable talked to each other and our friends and came from Buffalo together. There's a lot of, you know,

alignment, I guess is the right word. And frankly, you asked me about Dable, but this is operating a little bit like a baseball team where, you know, Joe Shane is Theo Epstein. And he's sitting with Brian Dable on Friday and Saturday making the game day lineup. And so Dable is inclusive in that regard. And Shane deserves credit also for kind of how the coaching staff is deploying the team on game day. Interesting. All right. So there you go. Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, check him out. He also has a podcast, Talking Ball with Pat Leonard. Look that up wherever you get podcasts. Talking ball. Love it. And one last thought. I mean, you mentioned that Daniel Jones had a flashpoint moment against the Vikings. And I didn't know if you were aware of the around

the NFL flashpoint series, which really is taken off this year. So I don't know if that just seeped into the culture or if you were aware of it. Either way, it was great to hear the word flashpoint. Can I have that audio and play it for Daniel? Absolutely. The next steak dinner in Hoboken. I used to live on 10th and Clinton and Hoboken, good times, 24-year-old Zeus. All right, Pat, thank you very much, buddy.

Appreciate you coming on the show. Thanks, Pat. Your guy's show is awesome. Thank you so much for having me. on. Thank you. There he goes, Pat Leonard. All right, put him on the list.

Grave digger, the database of the guys we like and the gals we like and the list of the damned. Yeah, we found our Giants guy. Got a good Giants guy. Love Pat. Pat's great. A lot of fun. Yeah. Talking diamonds.

Wow. Yes. Was that the Germans? Again, do not even try. to get in the door at the bourbon room in Hollywood Wednesday night where we're going to be there and maybe Colleen too.

Yeah, no, I think we said that on one of the pods. And we know Yessica will be there as well. We did say it. Yeah, yeah. I'll be there. I'll be there. Good, good, good. So make sure you're there if you got tickets and flood the secondary market and see if there is one. Your daughter

doesn't need braces. She just should have braces. And I think that's an important distinction. You need to be able to tear children's needs along with your own needs. And I think your need comes first tier without any conflict. You only get one life on this blue marble. It's like, why does everyone's teeth have to be so straight? Let's bring back crooked teeth. That's it.

Right, like the olden days. Yeah, let's be imperfect. All right, that's it. Dan Hans is signing off for Quiet Storm, the old boss, Connie Fox, the Tiny Box, the Grave, who will also be in Hollywood. It's your chance to meet Justin Graver. Oh, my God. heed the call.

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